Josh Waldbeser Quoted in ThinkAdvisor Regarding Conflict of Interest Exemption FAQS

Josh Waldbeser was quoted in a ThinkAdvisor article titled, “Is the DOL Fiduciary Rule DOA Under Trump?” Advisors and broker-dealers are both contemplating what President-elect Trump’s presidency will mean for the DOL fiduciary rule. Many have speculated that his administration will seek to overturn, repeal or eliminate certain portions of the rule.

The DOL has released its first batch of FAQs guidance, “Conflict of Interest Exemption FAQS.” Josh notes that while the guidance answers several questions, some items still remain unanswered, particularly regarding recruitment bonuses tied to “back-end” sales targets.

“DOL says that they’re not allowed, but that there will be relief for arrangements in existence on the date the FAQs were issued, but what happens if they’re entered into soon after the FAQs were issued?” Josh said. “Basically, if the relief really is just intended for pre-existing arrangements on the exact day of the FAQs, that's a pretty abrupt stop, and might not be realistic in all cases. We hope the DOL will provide more flexibility here.”

Josh stated that another issue that is not resolved is whether BICE-lite includes commission offset models.

Read “Is the DOL Fiduciary Rule DOA Under Trump?”