Is the Fiduciary Rule for Brokers Dead?

The Department of Labor put in place a fiduciary rule in 2016 to regulate the behavior of brokers ​when dealing with retirement accounts. The rule embodied the "strong form" of retirement regulation calling for brokers to place their clients' interest ahead of their own. However, the federal appeals court struck down the regulation in March, 2018 and the Trump Administration has indicated it will not challenge the ruling, leaving the obligations of brokers to their retirement accounts in limbo. The Securities and Exchange Commission has released an ambiguous proposal that would require brokers "to act in the best interest of the retail client." To make matters worst, the SEC states "we are not proposing to define best interest at this time." We will continue to track this important issue in subsequent blogs.
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​https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-06-08/the-fiduciary-rule-may-sound-boring-but-its-collapse-threatens-your-retirement