Posted by on April 19, 2016
The long-awaited Department of Labor’s ruling emerged in final form last week. This ruling is for the protection of the people and their retirement savings and requires those in the brokerage world to adopt a higher standard and to act as “fiduciaries”; that is, to put their clients’ interest first. And while many investors assumed their interests always did come first, that is not the case! This ruling, heavily opposed by the brokerage and insurance industry, requires that they now may only sell products that are best suited for a client and not necessarily recommend those, which first, are most profitable to the seller. We watched the evolution of this ruling – some time in the making – with bemusement. It has been patently obvious to the Fee-Only planning industry (of which we are proud participants) that holding oneself to a Fiduciary standard is the only way to work with clients, else, where is the trust?
