The finance industry may get a fresh opportunity to chip away at an Obama-era rule that cracked down on Wall Street conflicts of interest, as the Securities and Exchange Commission is considering reviewing the responsibilities that brokers have to their clients, Bloomberg News reported Friday. The SEC’s first step could be seeking feedback on what’s known as a fiduciary duty — the requirement that financial professionals offering investment advice put their customers’ interests ahead of their own. The SEC’s efforts would be significant in deciding the fate of a rule passed last year by the Labor Department that imposed a fiduciary obligation on brokers who handle retirement accounts. Despite Trump administration efforts to slow it down, Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta disappointed financial firms this week by saying the bulk of the rule would take effect as scheduled on June 9.
