The DoL rule, due to come into force by 10 April, requires financial advisers to act in the best interests of their clients in retirement accounts and is designed to put an end to hidden fees and high-commission investment products.
The reforms are widely-acknowledged as the US equivalent to the UK’s Retail Distribution Review (RDR).
Last week, Republican congressman Joe Wilson introduced a bill which could delay the implementation date fiduciary rule by at least two years, slamming the adviser reforms as overly burdensome and claiming it will make it more costly to give and receive advice.
“This legislation will delay the implementation of this job-destroying rule, giving congress and president-elect Donald Trump adequate time to re-evaluate this harmful regulation,” said Wilson in a statement on his house of representatives website.
The move is believed to be the first form of serious opposition by the new administration to halt the fiduciary rule.
Several industry groups, such as the National Association for Fixed Annuities (Nafa), have launched legal challenges, although a US judge threw out the insurance body’s first appeal in November last year.
Until now, the advice industry in the US has been divided on where president-elect Donald Trump stands on the Labor Department’s conflict of interest reforms, although Don Andrews, a compliance attorney with US law firm Venable told International Adviser in November that he expects the fiduciary rule to be delayed.
