Washington, DC, August 30, 2017 – SIFMA today released the following statement from Kenneth E. Bentsen, Jr, SIFMA president and CEO, on the Department of Labor’s proposed rule to delay the January 1, 2018 applicability date of the fiduciary rule:

“SIFMA has long supported the creation by the SEC of a best interest standard for retail investors, but as new evidence demonstrates, the ‎DOL rule continues to harm retirement savers by limiting or eliminating access to investment services and products and raising costs. We commend the DOL’s proposed delay announcement and will be submitting comments in support of the delay.  Finalizing a long-term delay as soon as practicable would be a positive step that would help mitigate customer confusion around the rule and give the DOL adequate time to complete its comprehensive review as mandated by the President.”

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SIFMA is the voice of the U.S. securities industry. We represent the broker-dealers, banks and asset managers whose nearly 1 million employees provide access to the capital markets, raising over $2.5 trillion for businesses and municipalities in the U.S., serving clients with over $18.5 trillion in assets and managing more than $67 trillion in assets for individual and institutional clients including mutual funds and retirement plans. SIFMA, with offices in New York and Washington, D.C., is the U.S. regional member of the Global Financial Markets Association (GFMA). For more information, visit http://www.sifma.org.