US. Obama, Buffett or Trump: who’s right about the cost of retirement investing advice?

In a stunning reversal, the Trump administration will not seek to further delay an Obama-era investment rule designed to put an end to costly, conflict-filled retirement advice.

The so-called fiduciary rule will require anyone selling retirement investment advice to put their clients’ interests first and to plainly disclose fees. It was set to take partial effect on April 10, but the incoming Trump administration had forced a delay until June 9.

In an Op-Ed, Donald Trump’s Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta gamely made the case for deregulation, as you might expect.

Nevertheless, he admitted that the law is not on the side of those who might prefer more delay, namely, retirement investment advisers who benefit from the status quo of murky disclosures and less-than-clear loyalties.

“We have carefully reviewed the record in this case, and the requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act, and have found no principled legal basis to change the June 9 date while we seek public input,” Acosta wrote in The Wall Street Journal. Full implementation is scheduled for Jan. 1, 2018.

Full Content: Market Watch

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