Labor Secretary Acosta Writes WSJ Op-Ed and DOL Follows with New FAQs and a New Temporary Enforcement Policy on the Fiduciary Rule

Secretary Acosta’s op-ed in The Wall Street Journal on May 22, 2017, announced that compliance with the Fiduciary Rule will generally be required beginning on June 9, 2017 (with full implementation on January 1, 2018, pending any change in policy based on the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) continuing review).

The DOL also released new Conflict of Interest FAQs for the Transition Period and a new Temporary Enforcement Policy. The FAQs note that the DOL intends to issue a Request for Information seeking public comment with respect to a potential additional delay in the January 1 applicability date, and also provides specific guidance on certain issues that may arise with respect to advisers during the transition period.

The new Temporary Enforcement Policy provides that during the transition period the DOL will not pursue claims against fiduciaries who are working diligently and in good faith to comply with the Fiduciary Rule during the phased implementation period that runs‎ until January 1, 2018, or treat those fiduciaries as being in violation of the Fiduciary Rule. Dechert has also published an OnPoint with more information on these developments available here.

Read The Wall Street Journal op-ed »
Read the Conflict of Interest FAQs »
Read the Temporary Enforcement Policy »