In this article, Theresa Gee and Erin Sweeney* discussed the U.S. Department of Labor's (DOL's) recently released Fiduciary Rule, which they describe as "a wholesale rewrite of a 40-year-old regulation," whereby the DOL "launched an industry-changing prohibited transaction exemption, and amended a number of existing prohibited transaction exemptions to address what it views to be harmful conflicts of interest when individuals receive investment advice," the authors said. "Even though the final rule is, in many ways, more livable than the proposed rule, with potential traps for fiduciary, co-fiduciary and knowing participant exposure, failing to act with due caution is fraught with peril," they said. The authors address the new definition of fiduciary following the rule and the best interest contract (BIC) exemption as well as how individuals and entities will be affected.

*Former Miller & Chevalier attorney