The Department of Labor has officially posted transcripts from last month's four-day public open hearings on its proposed fiduciary rule.

That means stakeholders have until September 24, 2015, the last Thursday of the month, to submit final comments.

In an email statement accompanying the release of the transcripts, Phyllis Borzi, Assistant Secretary of Labor for the Employee Benefits Security Administration, said, "we welcome comments on the testimony presented and the dialogue between witnesses and the government panel reflected at the hearing."

In the statement, Borzi brought attention to four studies related to the proposed rule that were commissioned by the DOL.

Three studies were released last August, notes Borzi. In one, an economist at Advanced Analytical Consulting Group is largely supportive of the widely cited Council of Economic Advisers report released by the White House earlier this year that found retirement investors are losing billions a year to conflicted advice.

Another report by the Rand Corporation compared regulatory schemes over retirement investment markets around the world and found that, "while the United States places different standards of care on investment advisers and broker-dealers, financial advisers in the other countries we reviewed are frequently held to the same standard of care, regardless of the type of adviser or type of advice provided."

A second report by Rand found that disclosure of conflicts of interest, which many opponents of the DOL rule argue could be improved to address systemic conflicts of interest, "may not provide sufficient support in helping investors make more informed decisions."

And a final report, also published by Rand and posted on the DOL's website today, found evidence to "suggest that individuals who receive advice tend to be more likely to have a plan for retirement."

But that report also called that evidence "correlational," suggesting those with access to advisors tend to be wealthier and better educated, implying advisors may not be solely responsible for improving retirement outcomes.

"Moreover, research examining the impact of workplace retirement seminars suggests that some of the same benefits might be conferred through less personalized interactions," concluded researchers from Rand.

  • See copies of the transcripts from the DOL's open hearings.

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