April 10, 2017 marks the deadline for initial compliance with the Department of Labor’s Fiduciary Rule, i.e., enforcement of the rule’s provisions can begin at that time. You’ve likely seen many of the same articles I have over the past week, arguing that with a Trump presidency this rule could be repealed. While none of us can be certain at this point how any of this will play out, I believe Michael Kitces’ argument here offers advisors solid advice about how to proceed in light of the uncertainty surrounding the future of the ruling now, and I would encourage you to check it out if you haven’t already. Even if you’re in the camp that now believes the rule is dead in the water, Kitces reasons persuasively that you should proceed with your preparations to meet the compliance requirements.
That said, Redtail recently partnered with SEI Advisor Network to pull together resources to assist advisors with planning for and meeting the deadline. Those resources include a 4-page DoL Action Plan Template, four workflows with swimlane diagrams and manuals and an informative DoL white paper. You can watch a replay of our joint webinar on these resources here or sign up to get the DoL Workflow Toolkit here.