Industry players are weighing in on the Department of Labor's proposal to delay the fiduciary rule's implementation date by 60 days. Baird is going a step further, suggesting the regulation be postponed "by a year or more."
The regional firm is among the first to issue a formal comment letter on the proposal, which
Baird supports a delay in order to avoid confusion.
"No retirement investor's interest will be served if the fiduciary rule goes into effect before we have certainty on the products and services that can be provided under the final rule," the firm says in its letter, which is available on the
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Hope is dimming, but top Democrats like Sen. Elizabeth Warren and investor advocates are unlikely to relent in their efforts to preserve the regulation.
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"To me, that rule, it was about one thing and it was about enabling trial lawyers to increase profits,” acting Chairman Michael Piwowar says.
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Andy Sieg, head of the firm, says that "operational changes" are possible if the rule is delayed or overturned.
February 27
The industry has marshalled enormous resources to comply with the new regulation, which is set to take effect April 10.
"We have spent a tremendous amount of money and staff hours comprehending and analyzing the rule, revising how our business runs, changing our policies and procedures necessary to make the enormous shift required by the new rule, drafting client disclosures, correspondence and explanations of revised product offerings necessitated by the rule, and creating compliance and surveillance programs, in addition to a host of other requirements necessary to comply with the rule," the Milwaukee-based company said in the statement.
Baird's wealth management unit has more than 875 advisers and $115 billion in client assets, according to the company.
Several other brokerages have also filed comment letters, including UBS, Stifel, Neuberger Berman Investment Advisors and Ladenburg Thalmann Financial Services. All four firms support a delay.
Like Baird,
Ladenburg suggests a 180-day delay for all aspects of
Because the rule's current "requirements that compensation be level within a product category (ex. fixed index annuity product category), Ladenburg will be forced to significantly reduce retirement products available to investors,"
More firms, trade organizations, investor advocacy groups and advisers are expected to file letters before the
