Galvin praises DOL’s stance on financial advisers

BOSTON – The secretary of the commonwealth is lauding the U.S. Department of Labor for its tightening of standards for financial advisers.
The DOL last week set long-anticipated fiduciary rules, creating new and stricter standards for financial advisers. The rules are designed to create safeguards for workers from faulty investment advice through improved disclosures and fewer conflicts of interest.
“Requiring financial advisers to put the interest of retirees first will help protect those retirees from being sold unnecessary financial products that serve mainly to generate high commissions,” said Secretary William F. Galvin in a prepared statement.
Galvin specifically cited non-traded REITs and variable annuities as examples of high-commission instruments. The new rules will apply to anyone who advises rolling over a company 401(k) to an IRA, which is a $7.4 trillion market. Galvin largely thanked Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat, for her “tireless work over years to extend this protection to those whose retirement funds have been at the mercy of advisers and brokers who put high commissions and fees before the interest of the retirees.
“It has been a years-long effort, fought every step of the way by the financial services industry,” he said.