Released: April 06, 2016

DOL fiduciary rule will protect retirement investors from ‘conflicted advice’

Statement by Consumer Action on final fiduciary rule released today

Contact: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address), 202-544-3088

This statement may be attributed to Linda Sherry, director of national priorities, Consumer Action

The release of a final Department of Labor (DOL) fiduciary rule today is a huge victory for American workers and retirees against serious odds! The DOL is to be congratulated for issuing its final fiduciary rule to eliminate the conflicts of interest that expose consumers to salespeople masquerading as objective investment professionals. Conflicted advice leads to large and unnecessary costs that siphon money from Americans’ retirement savings. According to the White House Council of Economic Advisers, conflicted advice costs drains more than $17 billion dollars a year in aggregate from worker’s retirement accounts. 

The road to the final rule has been long and arduous, with continuing attacks from pro-business and anti-consumer members of Congress. While these attacks by politicians are clearly self-interested, the sheer number of untruths thrown about by opponents sets a new precedent. We are sure the fight won’t stop here, but we hope that consumers and citizens can see through the misrepresentations about the impact of this rule on the investment advisory industry. The fact that many important players—financial professionals and firms that already adhere to a fiduciary standard—sided with leading groups representing retirees and workers demonstrates that the rule is sorely needed and will not negatively impact the industry.

Consumer Action thanks Labor Secretary Thomas Perez for recognizing and closing loopholes that have plagued retirement savers for 40 years!

Note: The rule is expected to take effect in April 2017. For more information on the rule, the DOL has issued a fact sheet.