Christine Lazaro
Professor Lazaro commented on the Department of Labor’s proposed rule to extend a fiduciary standard to those providing investment advice to clients on retirement accounts in an article in On Wall Street, Tougher Rules But Flexible Comp Under New Fiduciary Proposal. The article, written by Andrew Welsch and Suleman Din, states:
Critics should remember that the DOL had initially come out with a fiduciary standard proposal in 2010, then pulled it and spent the next five years seeking additional comment and revising rules, said Christine Lazaro, director of the Securities Arbitration Clinic at St. John’s University School of Law.
“It’s not like they’ve moved forward quickly or haphazardly, or without considering viewpoints that they needed to,” Lazaro said. “They’ve moved forward carefully and I think thoughtfully in the process.”
The DoL proposal will be filed in the Federal register and will again be open for public comment, she added. “So there will be another opportunity for anyone to voice their concerns. The fact that they are moving forward faster than the SEC on a fiduciary standard doesn’t mean they haven’t given full consideration of viewpoints that they should be considering.”
Lazaro found little in the proposal for the industry to be alarmed about.
“It does seem like the general business models will be permitted,” Lazaro noted. “There really isn’t any need to panic. The major concerns raised by the industry regarding commissions and revenue sharing, these would be permitted to continue, so long as the advice given is in the best interest of the investor.”
“There are plenty of situations where advisors are already held to fiduciary duty, such as under state common law standards. It’s not like strict standards haven’t been tested and brokers haven’t been held to these standards already. It’s not a foreign concept when it comes to brokers.”
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