Fiduciary Rule May Face 18-month Delay: WSJ

A rule intended to protect retirement savers from biased investment advice may face an 18-month delay in implementation, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing a recent court document. WSJ said the Labor Department has proposed that compliance to the retirement-savings regulation, known as the fiduciary rule, be pushed back to July 1, 2019 from Jan. 1, 2018, according to papers filed with the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota. The Labor Department filing is part of a lawsuit against the department challenging how clients can seek legal satisfaction against advisers. The fiduciary rule, brought to life by President Barack Obama in the wake of the 2008-'09 financial crisis, has gone through a number of twists and turns after pro-Wall Street President Donald Trump came into office, with many expecting that the GOP leader might defang the rule entirely. The Obama administration argued that conflicted advice from financial advisers resulted in billions of losses on retirement-savings accounts. A number of companies have already taken measures to comply with the rule.