Fiduciary Rule

Here are key takeaways from a Department of Labor fact sheet.

Experts and advisers weigh in on what to expect and how to discuss the future.

Confusion among affluent taxpayers could lead to new ways to help clients.

Digital platforms have to overcome two key challenges to ensure they survive, according to the CEO of Orion Advisor Services.

Here's how the outcome of the presidential election could affect the trajectory of the Labor Department's regulation.

A federal judge categorically rejects claims by an insurance group that the agency overreached. The ruling "sets the tone" for other suits nationwide, an investor advocate says.

While a federal court allowed the organization to file a brief saying it upheld fiduciary values, it should not be providing expert opinions, writes the founder of a fiduciary consulting firm.

The firm is going for a middle-of-the-road approach that includes fee-based retirement accounts and which also relies on the best interest contract exemption with certain clients, says CEO Ron Kruszewski.

Amid reports of a possible sale, assets rise and expenses fall.

The advisers made the move in the wake of new regulatory guidance which takes aim at recruiting deals.

"There are ways to potentially be cute with it. You could potentially cut out retirement business from the back-end bonuses," says an ex-Merrill Lynch executive who works in the independent space. "Cute doesn't usually work when it comes to regulators."

Mutual fund providers sought to use digital platforms as new distribution channels for their funds, but new guidance upends a strategy that would rely only on proprietary products.

The early decision stops advisers from earning commissions on products that will also generate fees through the firm's Investment Advisory Program.

Following Commonwealth Financial Network's decision to cut its commission-based retirement business, some competitors head in the opposite direction.

With the fiduciary rule coming, advisers who have a great offer on the table better act fast, says one headhunter.

New guidance from the Department of Labor provides conditions under which firms can offer bonuses and other compensation incentives.

In an informal poll, the majority of banks and credit unions have made a definitive decision to no longer accept soft marketing dollars.

The decision is effective immediately and was made within hours of the Department of Labor issuing new regulatory guidance on the fiduciary rule's implications.

That extra back-end comp "can create acute conflicts of interest," the Department of Labor says in newly provided regulatory guidance.

Lawyers will likely become "very industrious … and once the trial bar is on to something, you know regulators will look,” a Schwab exec predicts.