Trump to halt DoL fiduciary rule, review Dodd-Frank

Today, President Donald Trump will sign executive orders having a major impact on Wall Street.

One of these orders will direct the Treasury secretary to review the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial oversight law, which reshaped financial regulation after the 2008-2009 financial crisis.

As The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg report, Trump will make another change. He wants to halt the implementation of the U.S. Department of Labor’s fiduciary regulation. Under the Obama administration, the plan was to phase in the rule starting in April 2017; it would have required all advisors of retirement accounts to abide by a new fiduciary standard in clients’ interests.

Trump, who had pledged to lighten financial regulation, is expected to delay the implementation of the rule for 90 days for a review. The president is scheduled to attend a signing ceremony at noon today to issue his new directives.

Trump pledged during his campaign to repeal and replace the Dodd-Frank law, which also created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. A senior White House official outlined his executive order in a background briefing with reporters Thursday, reports The Associated Press.

“Dodd-Frank is a disaster,” Trump said earlier this week, during a meeting with small business owners. The new president has named Wall Street insiders to key positions in his administration, including Steven Mnuchin, hedge fund manager and former Goldman Sachs executive, as Treasury secretary.

The president’s orders won’t have any immediate impact, but it could mean wasted investment for firms that have been working toward complying with new regulation. Also, investor advocacy groups will be concerned about the failure to adopt a standard fiduciary standard.

For more, read:

Why SEC Chair White’s departure could hurt U.S. advice industry

How presidential candidates would reform Wall St.

Will Trump dump U.S. fiduciary rule?

Trump policy cheat sheet

The market’s rigged, says former top U.S. official

Stakes are high in U.S. fiduciary debate (2015)

U.S. advisors weigh in on political and industry issues
 (2014)

SEC seriously considers fiduciary rule (2013)