This morning, the Department of Labor (DOL) officially published a proposed rule which would, if finalized, extend the applicability date of the Fiduciary Rule (and associated prohibited transaction exemptions) by 60 days. The purpose of the delay is to provide the DOL with additional time to complete the review of the rule directed by President Trump last month. The Fiduciary Rule’s applicability date was originally April 10, 2017. Assuming the proposed delay is finalized in its current form, the rule’s applicability date will be delayed until June 9, 2017. The DOL is requesting comments on several topics in connection with its review of the rule, including:

• Whether the DOL should implement a different delay period or a partial delay of the rule;
• What changes firms are making in response to the rule;
• The extent to which changes have helped or harmed investors; and
• The extent to which the costs associated with compliance have already been incurred.

We recommend that plan fiduciaries reach out to their service providers and determine how they intend to respond to the delay of the Fiduciary Rule, and that service providers evaluate how to respond to the proposed delay and communicate that response to their clients.