Fiduciary Rule

The wirehouse will make “many” of the pricing and product design changes it planned last year, include lowering commissions for trades involving stocks and ETFs “to the benefit of our clients,” according to an internal memo.

By putting clients’ interests first and documenting conscientiously, advisors will comply with the rule, while also building trust.

Executives also estimate how much of their advisory force will quit in the wake of the DoL rule.

Too much growth has led to a slowdown in business efficiencies. Smart firms need to fix their operating models.

There's a better way to craft a standard that would protect investors and preserve client choice.

The brokerage industry’s watchdog would also want to play an active role in the design of a possible SEC fiduciary regulation, Robert Cook says.

One suggestion planners say they are offering bullish clients: Don't be extreme.

The costs of complying with the fiduciary rule may cause many smaller independent broker-dealers to disappear. Advisor Group plans to take advantage of this trend.

"There is an added sense of urgency now," says Barbara Roper, director of investor protection at the Consumer Federation of America.

The White House has made fiduciary part of investors' vocabulary.