The fiduciary rule has drawn fierce criticism from parts of the industry.
Graff said that the industry’s objections were that the rule allowed investors to bring class-action lawsuits over violations. This would be a change from the current system where most brokerages require clients to agree to arbitrate disputes and forgo class-action lawsuits.
“It’s the way the rule goes about trying to enforce the standard that people object to the most,” Graff said.
A US congressman introduced a bill in early January that could delay implementation by at least two years.
Several industry groups, such as the National Association for Fixed Annuities (Nafa), have also launched legal challenges, although a US judge threw out the insurance body’s first appeal in November last year.
