Stricter rules unveiled for brokers giving retirement advice

WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration acted Wednesday to require that brokers who recommend investments for retirement savers meet a stricter standard that now applies to registered advisers: They must act as "fiduciaries" -- trustees who are obligated to put their clients' best interests above all.

The action, in rules issued by the Labor Department, could shake up how Americans' retirement investments are handled by brokers. The anticipated release of the rules had been the target of heated lobbying campaigns from the financial industry and consumer advocates.

"This is a huge win for the middle class," Labor Secretary Thomas Perez said in a conference call. "We are putting in place a fundamental principle of consumer protection."

The rules will be phased in starting a year from now. Full compliance will be required by January 2018.

The change could alter the types of investments -- from stocks and bonds to annuities and real-estate funds -- that brokers recommend for people's retirement accounts. Their recommendations soon may shift away from riskier or high-commission investments.

And brokers will have to disclose any conflict of interest related to a financial product -- such as commanding a high fee for recommending it -- that would prevent them from putting a client's interests first.

Americans increasingly seek advice to help navigate their options for retirement, college savings and more.

Many professionals provide investment guidance, but not all are required to disclose potential conflicts of interest.

The management of hundreds of billions in retirement accounts such as 401(k)s and Individual Retirement Accounts could be affected. About $4.5 trillion were in 401(k) retirement accounts as of Sept. 30, plus $2 trillion in other defined-contribution plans such as federal employees' plans and $7.3 trillion in IRAs, according to the Investment Company Institute, an industry group.

Critics of the current system said investors lose billions a year because of brokers' conflicts of interest. The White House estimates the loss at $17 billion annually.

Regulators say problems often arise when people who are retiring or leaving a company "roll over" their employer-based 401(k) account into an individual retirement account.

A broker they hire to make that shift might persuade them to move their money into a variable annuity or other investment that could be risky, expensive or difficult to cash out.

The Consumer Federation of America called the government action "a historic win for consumers."