DOL Seeks Additional Comments On Fiduciary Rule

The US Department of Labor (DOL) released its " Request for Information Regarding the Fiduciary Rule and Prohibited Transaction Exemptions" on June 29. Highlights from the RFI, which was published in the Federal Register on July 6, include the following:

• Potential delay of January 1 compliance date. The DOL requests comments on whether to extend the transition period by delaying the applicability of certain conditions of the exemptions beyond January 1, 2018. Comments on the delay are due July 20.
• Focus on clean shares, T-shares and fee-based annuities. As expected, the RFI includes a number of questions about clean shares, T-shares, and other "innovations" such as fee-based annuities. The DOL further requests input on the possibility of developing a "streamlined exemption" based on these approaches.