News & Events

Corporate Partner David Blass was quoted in Regulatory Compliance Watch in an article titled “New RFI From the DOL Could Mean a Delay in Full Fiduciary Duty Rule in 2018.” The article discusses whether the Department of Labor’s recent request for information on the Fiduciary Duty Rule means that the controversial rule, which took partial effect last month, will be delayed. In the article, David calls the RFI “an encouraging move” by the DOL, calling it a potential sign that the DOL and the SEC will work together on a fiduciary duty standard. While at the SEC, David was the agency’s liaison with the DOL in discussing a joint fiduciary duty standard. “It’s a bit of a tricky issue that the SEC’s going to have to grapple with,” he says, as investment advisers already are fiduciaries and modifying their standard won’t be easy. Also, the DOL and the SEC function under different federal statutes, David adds. If the two agencies move forward, they will have to avoid “further confusion” over what makes for a fiduciary, he says.