Late last week, the House Financial Services Committee approved the CHOICE Act for consideration by the full House of Representatives. The CHOICE Act is likely the first step towards Congressional repeal of the Department of Labor’s fiduciary rule. In addition to undoing or potentially replacing the Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform regulations adopted after the 2008 financial crisis, the CHOICE Act also seeks to repeal the fiduciary rule. In addition to the repeal, the Act also requires the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), before promulgating any such rule, to report to the House Committee on Financial Services and Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs on whether retail customers are being harmed because broker/dealers’ standard of conduct differs from investment advisers’ standard of conduct. Essentially, the CHOICE Act would repeal the DOL’s fiduciary rule and would allow the SEC to move first in issuing its own rule on investment-advice regulation.
Although the regulation has not been passed by the House yet, Innovative will continue to monitor the regulation. Should you have any questions regarding the fiduciary rule or the role of your advisers, please do not hesitate to contact us.
