As ordered by President Trump in a presidential memorandum (the “Memorandum”) on February 3, 2017, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) proposed a 60-day delay to the “fiduciary rule,” which revised the definition of “fiduciary” for retirement investment advice purposes. The rule was originally set to become effective on April 10, 2017; however, after receiving more than 1,000 comments from the financial services industry, the DOL issued a final rule on April 4, 2017 to extend the effective date of the fiduciary rule to June 9, 2017. It is likely that a series of delays will follow, as the DOL must also consider the comments it will continue to receive until April 16, 2017 on the Memorandum. As the President’s administration continues to assess the rule, it is possible they could leave the rule in place, make minimal changes, revise it, or completely rescind the rule, with a total revision likely proving to be the most difficult.
