Good Government Strikes Again, Protecting Retirees And Near-Retirees

As of Wednesday, the new rules for financial advisers are in place, which will help millions of retirees and near-retirees.

U.S. brokers managing retirement accounts must adhere to tough new standards under an Obama administration rule released Wednesday that aims to protect millions of savers from conflicted investment advice.

The Labor Department regulation, which gave the industry some concessions from an earlier proposal, puts a capstone on President Barack Obama’s efforts to rein in Wall Street and level the playing field for investors who hold some $12 trillion in Individual Retirement Accounts and 401(k) plans. For the brokerages, mutual funds and insurers that fought the plan for more than five years, it will bring compliance headaches and likely more lawsuits from disgruntled clients. […]

"Today's rule ensures that putting clients first is no longer a marketing slogan," Labor Secretary Thomas Perez said in a call with reporters. "It is the law."

In a tweet Sen. Elizabeth Warren praised the rule, pointing out that "conflict of interest rules existed for doctors and lawyers, but not retirement advisers." That, she said, "is nuts." That's now changed. When brokers have a stake in the products they're selling to investors, they now have to disclose that to clients. But it also means that they have to put customers’ interests ahead of their own, advising on what would be the best investments for the client, rather than the ones that will give them a kickback. This, the administration estimates, will put billions more into seniors' retirement.

Republicans and Wall Street fought hard against this rule, but this time Main Street prevailed.