Fred Reish Quoted on DOL’s Texas Win in Fiduciary Rule Case

Los Angeles partner Fred Reish was quoted in a ThinkAdvisor article titled, "DOL Wins Fiduciary Rule Case in Texas." Nine plaintiffs, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, and the Financial Services Institute sued the DOL over its fiduciary rule. A Texas federal judge ruled in favor of the Labor Department, stating “Congress gave the DOL broad discretion to use its expertise and weigh policy concerns when deciding how best to protect retirement investors from conflicted transactions.”

Fred noted that, even with Judge Lynn’s ruling, it is still possible that the DOL under the Trump administration will take a different political position and delay and modify, or delay and kill, the fiduciary rule, but that the ruling is one less reason they can use for that purpose.

“The DOL will need to conclude that the fiduciary rule limits access of plans and IRA owners to needed investment advice and/or increases the cost of that advice by amounts that exceed any offsetting benefits of the rule,” Fred said. “At this point, I think that there is distinct possibility that the DOL will make those findings.”

Read “DOL Wins Fiduciary Rule Case in Texas.”