Kenneth Corbin

The industry groups working to scuttle the Department of Labor's fiduciary proposal hit a setback this week on Capitol Hill, but are vowing to continue to fight.

Seeking an alternative to the DOL's controversial proposed fiduciary rule, some members of Congress are drafting their own proposal that would establish rules for advisers working with savers and plans without the regulatory burdens and litigation risks that critics see in the DOL's plan.

Warnings of billions in crippling costs and TV attack ads are the latest salvos from opponents of the Labor Department's fiduciary rule after hearings closed last week. The industry's newest claim is that independent firms could get hit with a bill tallying up to $3.9 billion in startup costs alone should the rule go into effect.

Of the many industry critiques of the Department of Labor's fiduciary proposal, one of the most oft-repeated is the assertion that new regulations would cut off access to advice for low- and middle income investors — precisely the segment of consumers the initiative aims to protect.

Concerns about over-regulation and accusations of industry cynicism led the opening of the Labor Department's hearings on its proposal to impose fiduciary requirements on retirement advisers — the latest phase of its contentious process to craft new rules on consumer protections.

If the DOL's proposal to impose new fiduciary responsibilities on advisers in the retirement space becomes rule, many financial professionals fearing legal liability could abandon that market altogether, and cut off services to low- and middle-income investors, according to FINRA chief Richard Ketchum.

As a younger generation of investors begins to grapple with retirement planning, advisors and fund companies should take note of the distinct concerns that those millennials bring with them

Despite a recent show of political opposition, the U.S. Department of Labor seems poised to press ahead with a proposal to broaden the definition of fiduciary to cover advisers working in the retirement plan segment, a leading opponent of the measure warned on Monday.

Social media is similar to other marketing strategies in that it’s important to have a plan, but that’s about where the parallels stop.

The Department of Labor is pushing back its timeframe for releasing a highly anticipated proposal for expanding fiduciary responsibilities for advisers who work with retirement plans.

In a scenario where retirement income and wealth account for 100% of an investor’s simulated retirement expenses, a model projects that around a quarter of baby boomers and Gen Xers who would have had sufficient retirement income under interest rates at historical averages would run out of money if the current low rates were taken as a permanent condition.

A bipartisan pair of lawmakers has introduced legislation that would make it easier for workers to repay loans or withdrawals they take from their 401(k) plans, drawing praise from the American Society of Pension Professionals and Actuaries.

Want proof that advisers need to be engaging with social media? Consider the SEC’s decision last week to let publicly traded companies make material corporate announcements on sites like Facebook and Twitter.

The American Society of Pension Professionals and Actuaries is applauding a bipartisan push to make it easier for workers to repay withdrawals they make from their employer-sponsored defined contribution plans.

House Democrats on Wednesday introduced legislation that would expand the role of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to conduct oversight examinations of investment advisers, a segment of the financial services sector that lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have agreed is under regulated.

With new cost-basis reporting requirements in effect for the 2011 tax year, Charles Schwab is warning investment advisers to brace for a hectic tax season and prepare for a flood of questions from clients who for the first time will receive a revised 1099-B form packed with new transaction information.

A top Labor Department official defended the controversial plan to expand the definition of "fiduciary" to cover people providing advice to retirement plans on a commission-based model, a proposal strongly opposed by industry groups representing independent broker-dealers and advisers.

Facing the twin blights of constrained state budgets and eroding market value amid the still-sputtering economy, retirement programs for public employees are under siege, with numerous state and local employers either undertaking or considering massive restructuring of their benefit plans.