Stopping the Government’s Raid on Savings

TribLive interviews John Berlau on the Department of Labor's proposed "fiduciary rule," laying out the dangers of this proposed policy.

The rule would severely restrict investment choices in savings plans such as 401(k)s and IRAs, especially for poor and middle-class investors, by forcing investment professionals to adhere to a one-size-fits all definition of ‘best interest' for assets and investment strategies. (If the rule goes into effect), predictions are that many brokers will stop serving households with less than $50,000 in assets.

The Labor Department is totally bypassing the SEC, which is the primary investment regulator and using illegally, I would argue, limited authority from the Employer Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 over defined-benefit, union-type pensions, to assert authority over all types of 401(k)s and IRAs, and even those investment vehicles that are designed to be self-directed.