On March 2, the US Department of Labor (DOL) published a proposed extension (the Proposal) of the effective date of what is commonly referred to as the “fiduciary rule” or the “fiduciary advice rule” (the Rule). The Rule provides that persons who provide investment advice or recommendations for fees or other compensation with respect to retirement plan assets will be fiduciaries under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (ERISA). This change from prior interpretations of existing law would bring more categories of advisors within the definition of fiduciary. The Rule, by its terms, becomes effective in part on April 10, 2017, and in whole on January 1, 2018.

The entire Katten advisory is available here.