Last week, the Financial Services Institute (FSI) and Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) joined a federal lawsuit filed in May in the Northern District of Texas, seeking to strike down the recently finalized Department of Labor (DOL) rule that unlawfully expands the definition of a "fiduciary" and jeopardizes investors' access to advice and education.

The two securities trade groups joined a lawsuit filed by the American Council of Life Insurers, the Insured Retirement Institute and seven other trade groups that were seeking to overturn the DOL's fiduciary rule finalized April 23 because it "undermines the expertise of state authorities who are responsible for overseeing annuities."

In a group statement, the associations said the 2024 version of the fiduciary rule suffers the same legal defects as the department's 2016 fiduciary rule because it exceeds the department's authority, is arbitrary and capricious, and is unconstitutional.

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