Twelve well-known U.S. financial services industry figures will meet Sept. 11 with the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission to discuss their “Fiduciary Declaration,” which will urge Congress and the agency to heighten protection for those receiving investment advice.
The declaration, to be signed by Paul Volcker, John C. “Jack” Bogle, Sheila Bair and Arthur Levitt, among others, has not been released. Its sponsor, the nonprofit Institute for the Fiduciary Standard, supports an SEC idea that would widen the definition of “fiduciary” to anyone providing investment advice to retirement plans. The institute said in an Aug. 22 press release that the declaration “seeks to urge policymakers and industry participants to faithfully apply and uphold the fiduciary standard for investment advice.”
SEC withdrew a 2011 proposal to broaden the definition of a fiduciary after encountering heavy resistance from the financial services industry.
As reported, the U.S. Department of Labor also is seeking input from the financial services industry to help it complete a cost-benefit analysis of the definition, which would apply to retirement plan providers, including investment advisers. DOL’s Employee Benefits Security Administration has been under pressure to complete the regulation, but it too has met with some headwinds from the investment community — including requests to harmonize its regulations with those of the SEC.
For additional information about retirement investment, see Thompson’s employee benefits library including the 401(k) Handbook.