CFA opposes delaying the January 1, 2018 applicability date, when the full protections under the Best Interest Contract (BIC) Exemption, Principal Transactions Exemption, and amendments to PTE 84-24 are currently scheduled to be implemented. Without complete implementation of these Prohibited Transaction Exemptions (PTEs), the full protections and benefits of the fiduciary rule won’t be realized, and retirement savers will continue to suffer the harmful consequences of conflicted advice. Unfortunately, by posing the question about whether there should be a further delay, the Department is creating unnecessary uncertainty and confusion in the market. More concerning, it is creating a self-fulfilling prophecy: firms, in anticipation that a delay will be granted, are likely to stall their compliance efforts, which the Department is then likely to point to as the justification to delay. Investors will suffer the consequences. We urge the Department to implement, without further delay, the full protections of the rule so that retirement savers receive the benefits of a meaningful, legally enforceable best interest standard backed by real restraints on conflicts of interest.
