ARNOLD F. SOCK, Attorney at Law, Opines on: The Demise of the U.S. Department of Labor's Fiduciary Rule is Made Official By the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
The U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals closed the book this week on the U.S. Department of Labor’s controversial 2016 fiduciary rule, which required retirement advisers to act in the best interest of clients, issuing a mandate that officially vacates the rule three months after a divided panel invalidated it (U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America, et al v. United States Department of Labor, et al 17-10238).
Although a Fifth Circuit panel decided 2-1 to vacate the fiduciary rule in March, and the appellate court later rejected motions by the American Association of Retired Persons and attorneys general from several states to intervene in the case to try to save the rule.
ARNOLD F. SOCK, Attorney at Law, believes that the two sides to this situation both have merit. It is a question of which side you are on that dictates how one looks at this. Advisers say the rule was overly burdensome and the advisees and potential advisees like the additional requirements. But the courst has ruled.