Why New DOL Fiduciary Rule Is Not a ‘Rehash’ of 2016

Because the architect of the Labor Division’s 2016 fiduciary rule, Phyllis Borzi is not any stranger to controversy.

Borzi, the previous head of Labor’s Worker Advantages Safety Administration underneath President Barack Obama, confronted a barrage of criticsm as she crafted the division’s 2016 rule, which was ultimately struck down by the U.S. Courtroom of Appeals for the fifth Circuit — a case that many unbiased authorized specialists, and Borzi, consider was wrongly determined.

In an interview, Borzi defined to me why she believes the present Labor officers’ job in writing the 2023 fiduciary rule “was each simpler and tougher” than she and others at Labor confronted in crafting the 2016 rule.

Borzi additionally relays why critics’ complaints that the brand new rule is “a rehash of the 2016 rule are merely mistaken.”

Learn on as Borzi discusses how the division’s 2023 rule differs from that of 2016, if she believes the brand new rule will face lawsuits, why the brand new rule fills gaps left by the Securities and Change Fee’s Regulation Greatest Curiosity and the Nationwide Affiliation of Insurance coverage Commissioners’ Mannequin Rule, and when a last rule could also be launched.

THINKADVISOR: What are the largest adjustments between the present fiduciary rule proposal and the one from 2016?

PHYLLIS BORZI: There actually are two main adjustments: first, the scope of the brand new DOL proposal has been considerably lowered by way of a a lot narrower, higher targeted and focused definition of an funding recommendation fiduciary and second, the brand new proposal gives a extra workable strategy to accountability for unbiased insurance coverage brokers.

First, in a transparent response to the fifth Circuit resolution, the brand new proposal limits fiduciary standing for funding recommendation fiduciaries to conditions during which the particular person offering the recommendation or advice to an “investor” (i.e., a plan, a plan fiduciary, plan participant or beneficiary, IRA, IRA proprietor or beneficiary or IRA fiduciary) for a payment or different direct or oblique compensation is in a relationship of belief and confidence with the investor or has explicitly accepted fiduciary standing.

Nevertheless, figuring out whether or not such a relationship exists relies on the expectations and understanding of the investor. And searching on the “common foundation” prong of the 1975 five-part check [determining fiduciary status] from the viewpoint of the investor, reasonably than the particular person making the advice, is in step with the institution of a relationship of belief and confidence.

It’s much more cheap for an investor to have higher reliance on the recommendation or suggestions of an individual who frequently provides funding recommendation or makes funding suggestions than to focus, because the 1975 check did, on whether or not the advice itself was for one-time recommendation or not. Once more, that is in step with the notion of assuring that fiduciary standing hooked up in reference to a relationship of belief and confidence, because the fifth Circuit mentioned was applicable.

This extra restricted and targeted scope of the definition of “fiduciary” is clearly in step with the letter and spirit of ERISA, and addresses the articulated concern of the fifth Circuit majority opinion that the 2016 proposal swept too broadly. I say this although I, and lots of different unbiased authorized specialists (i.e., those that don’t characterize trade gamers) strongly consider that the fifth Circuit resolution was fallacious and remorse the choice of the Trump Administration to not enchantment that call.

Nonetheless, the division clearly and unmistakably took the fifth Circuit resolution at face worth and did its finest to handle the issues the bulk raised. So these within the trade who declare that this proposal is just a rehash of the 2016 are merely mistaken.

Second, the largest concern I had about our 2016 rule was that it didn’t sufficiently handle the issues we noticed with oversight/accountability of unbiased insurance coverage brokers for his or her funding recommendation suggestions.

On the one hand, in accordance with the knowledge the division obtained from the insurance coverage trade and its representatives, these unbiased brokers typically weren’t promoting solely proprietary merchandise which elevate their very own set of potential conflicts points.

Then again, it was troublesome to use the circumstances for monetary establishment oversight (significantly the appliance of the foundations governing the implementation and enforcement of insurance policies and procedures to unbiased brokers whose suggestions may embody the merchandise of quite a lot of product producers).

So rethinking the construction and relationships between PTE 2020-02 [which covers rollover advice] and PTE 84-24 [which deals with annuities] to extra clearly handle these issues is sensible and I consider the division’s strategy is an effective one. However like some other proposal, I hope the affected stakeholders make a good-faith effort to work with the division to refine the proposal, reasonably than merely oppose it.

What I heard on the latest DOL listening to on the proposal and studying a number of the trade feedback, didn’t sound encouraging, however I’m ever the optimist that some within the trade will attempt to be constructive and never simply obstructionists.

Do you see any hassle spots within the present proposal?

There are at all times going to be points that come up the place affected stakeholders need particular guidelines.

Among the trade witnesses on the latest [DOL] hearings complained about particular guidelines that have been included within the 2016 rule that don’t seem within the present proposal, nevertheless it was each amusing and irritating for me to listen to these witnesses declare to have supported these provisions within the 2016 rule. My recollection differs.

In lots of circumstances, after we accommodated their requests and labored diligently with them to craft guidelines addressing their issues, few, if any, did something however oppose the rule and work with their congressional allies to kill it.

Do you want Labor had dealt with any facets of the brand new rule in another way?

One challenge that I want the division had been extra particular about (and which was addressed in some element within the 2016 rule) is the excellence between funding training and funding recommendation.

What we realized as we engaged in substantial public training and outreach in reference to the 2016 rule is that quite a few giant monetary establishments have been claiming to be merely offering funding training when it was clear from the info and circumstances that they have been additionally offering funding recommendation.

And the declare from these monetary establishments that each one communications that flowed by way of their name facilities must be exempt from fiduciary standing as a result of all have been funding training was a non-starter in my estimation.

Throughout my 45-plus yr profession within the worker advantages enterprise, I’ve visited quite a few name facilities all around the nation, together with whereas I used to be at DOL. These name facilities included these run by third-party claims directors/recordkeepers and by inside claims departments of my plan sponsor shoppers, and I’ve noticed a blended bag of funding recommendation and training being offered by these name facilities.