For all of the arguments raised by the Department of Labor's proposed conflict-of-interest rule—938 formal comments have been posted online, the preponderance in opposition to the rule—the most obvious, and perhaps most damaging to opponents of the rule, has yet to be fleshed out, according to one RIA.
Not even the DOL has pointed out what Michael Kitces thinks ultimately proves the incoherence of the broker-dealer industry's core argument—that requiring all brokers to act as fiduciaries will prevent them from offering advisory services to low and middle-income savers.
The catch to that argument from Kitces' perspective: brokers are not now advisors, nor can they legally put themselves out as advisors, so how can the DOL's rule prevent them from offering what they now can't legally offer?
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Nick Thornton
Nick Thornton is a financial writer covering retirement and health care issues for BenefitsPRO and ALM Media. He greatly enjoys learning from the vast minds in the legal, academic, advisory and money management communities when covering the retirement space. He's also written on international marketing trends, financial institution risk management, defense and energy issues, the restaurant industry in New York City, surfing, cigars, rum, travel, and fishing. When not writing, he's pushing into some land or water.
