DOL's Borzi says fiduciary rule will be simple: clients come first
Official calls economic analysis "robust," says process is
completely transparent
By Darla Mercado | June 19, 2013 - 8:43 am EST - InvestmentNews
The Labor Departmentfs re-proposal on fiduciary duty is widely expected to
land this fall, but Assistant Secretary Phyllis Borzi dropped a big hint on what
the industry can expect: a simpler rule in which clientsf interests come first.
Speaking at the Insured Retirement Institutefs annual Government, Legal and
Regulatory Conference in Washington yesterday, Ms. Borzi broke down three basic
components of the re-proposal. The regulation aims to do away with a five-part
test to determine who is a fiduciary under the Employee Retirement Income
Security Act of 1974, applying this higher standard of care to brokers and
advisers working with 401(k) plans.
gOur rule is simple and straightforward,h she said. gIn the re-proposal,
wefre making it very clear that there is only one rule: that you have to put the
best interest of your client ahead of your own interest.h
gThatfs what most people in this incredible public process tell us that they
do, and if thatfs what they do, then why not be accountable for it?h she asked.
The three parts of the regulation are the text of the proposal, the economic
analysis — which critics of the rule have been calling for — and a series of
prohibited-transaction exemptions.
This time around, the DOL has armed itself with detailed research on the
costs and benefits of the rule, which the public can dig up.
hWhat you will see is an extremely robust economic analysis in which we
document the cost of conflicted advice in terms of long-term retirement
savings,h Ms Borzi said.
gOur economic analysis will be completely transparent,h she added. gWe wonft
be giving a conclusion in aggregate; you can go and read for yourself every bit
of research we cite in the economic analysis.h
Meanwhile, the fact that there will be prohibited-transaction exemptions
included in the rule proposal means that though ERISA prohibits conflicts of
interest, the Labor secretary can exempt certain activities that the secretary
finds are in the best interests of participants and beneficiaries, Ms. Borzi
said.
gSo even if there is a potential for a conflict of interest, the secretary
can exempt those transactions from prohibited-transaction rules,h she said.
Indeed, industry groups representing broker-dealers, such as the Financial
Services Institute Inc., and members of Congress have expressed concerns that by
having the fiduciary label apply to brokers and rollovers into individual
retirement accounts, fewer people would have access to any kind of guidance to
begin with.
Members of the Congressional Black Caucus and the Congressional Hispanic
Caucus sent a letter dated June 14 to acting Labor Secretary Seth Harris, asking
that gthis re-proposed rule enhance investor protection without reducing
investor access to affordable retirement advice, products and services.h
gWe believe the department should adopt policies that expand access to
advice, particularly in light of the racial and gender disparities that
currently exist in retirement savings,h they wrote.