Happy Friday, readers! This week Merrill Lynch again grabbed headlines for being an early mover on fiduciary rule reforms. The firm, which in 2016 was among the first to announce it would halt sales of mutual funds within its commission-based IRA platform, tells PLANADVISER it will continue to move in that direction—with some important tweaks to its strategy now that the Trump administration has delayed the new fiduciary paradigm. Get the full story, as well as our latest coverage of industry litigation and regulation, below.
A series of recent district court decisions show strong deference for the DOL’s right to promulgate a more aggressive fiduciary standard—how relevant the decisions will remain under President Trump is still anyone’s guess.
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GOP lawmakers in the House and Senate suggests it is a federal government overreach for DOL to encourage or require states to offer workplace retirement savings programs for private sector workers.
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Service providers to tax-qualified 403(b) plans already have certain federally mandated conflict of interest reporting requirements, but the Connecticut State Legislature may also step up and play a role.
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