The US Department of Labor has proposed a new rule that would "broaden the kinds of financial advice held to the strictest fiduciary standard" in retirement accounts. The act is designed to ensure investors only receive advice that is in their best interests, rather than being directed towards products that earn their advisor a commission. However, it has been criticized for being too restrictive, and potentially pricing out low to moderate income investors.
The amount of money at stake is stunning-- as of 2015, the Council of Economic Advisers found that "$1.7 trillion of IRA assets were invested in products with a payment structure that generates conflicts of interests". That sum has undoubtedly grown in the past decade.
At Rainbook we exclusively work with fiduciary advisors. We believe fiduciary standards are necessary to protect clients from receiving advice that benefits the advisor more than the client. Whether the law changes or not, we will continue to advocate that investors seek financial advice that does not have an ulterior motive besides what's in their best interest.