Earlier today, I spoke with Fund Intelligence regarding the President’s initial decision to nominate Eugene Scalia as the next Secretary of Labor. His background suggests “an even more deliberative approach” to fiduciary rulemaking, namely, the promulgation of guidance and rules that will safely survive a court challenge. The most likely approach of a DOL under Scalia is the proposal of exemptive relief and other rules that lower compliance costs, meaning that it is unlikely that the DOL would expand the ways in which one becomes an investment advice fiduciary under ERISA.
