The Department of Labor's (DOL) finalized fiduciary rule "exceeds the Department's statutory authority and is arbitrary, capricious, and contrary to law," according to a lawsuit filed against the DOL and Labor Secretary Thomas Perez in U.S. District Court for the northern district of Texas.

Named plaintiffs in the suit are the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Financial Services Institute, Financial Services Roundtable, Insured Retirement Institute, the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, and several Texas-based business interest groups and affiliates of the Chamber of Commerce.

In vastly expanding the definition of fiduciary under the Employee Retirement Income Security act to all advisors, broker-dealers and insurance companies servicing IRAs and tens of thousands of 401(k) plans with less than $50 million in assets, the DOL is effectively rejecting long-standing securities laws, and encroaching on responsibilities Congress has mandated to the Securities and Exchange Commission, plaintiffs claim.

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Nick Thornton

Nick Thornton is a financial writer covering retirement and health care issues for BenefitsPRO and ALM Media. He greatly enjoys learning from the vast minds in the legal, academic, advisory and money management communities when covering the retirement space. He's also written on international marketing trends, financial institution risk management, defense and energy issues, the restaurant industry in New York City, surfing, cigars, rum, travel, and fishing. When not writing, he's pushing into some land or water.