Regulators are seeking to delay the deadline for financial advisers to fully comply with a rule that would require them to act in their customers’ best interest, according to a federal court filing yesterday, the New York Times reported. The Labor Department, which sent the proposal to the Office of Management and Budget, said that it wanted to push back the full implementation of the so-called fiduciary rule to July 1, 2019, from Jan. 1, 2018, according to a court document filed in Federal District Court in Minnesota. The first part of the fiduciary rule took effect in June, and requires brokers, financial advisers and insurance agents to put their customers’ interests ahead of their own, at least when they are handling their retirement accounts. But the final pieces that are not yet in place are what gives the rule its teeth: Among other things, the rule would require financial professionals with conflicts of interest to sign a contract with customers, making the rule legally enforceable.
