On August 9, 2017, the Department of Labor notified the District Court of Minnesota that it had submitted to the Office of Management and Budget amendments that would delay until July 1, 2019 the applicability of three prohibited transaction exemptions related to the DOL's "fiduciary rule": the (i) Best Interest Contract Exemption, (ii) Principal Transaction Exemption and (iii) PTE 84-24.[1] The fiduciary rule became applicable on June 9, 2017, following a sixty-day delay of its initial applicability date of April 10, 2017.[2]

If finalized, these amendments would constitute the second delay in applicability of these controversial exemptions. Pursuant to a final rule dated April 4, 2017, (1) reliance on the Best Interest Contract Exemption and the Principal Transaction Exemption would only require adhering to the Impartial Conduct Standards during the transition period of June 9 through January 1, 2018[3] and (2) advisors could continue to rely on PTE 84-24 until January 1, 2018, subject to adhering to the Impartial Conduct Standards beginning June 9th.[4] The court filing implies that adherence to the impartial conduct standards is still required prior to July 1, 2019.

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