Financial Services Institute (FSI) and Department of Labor (DOL) officials met today to continue their discussions about redefining a fiduciary rule for the financial services industry.

The meeting was sparked by a Financial Planning Coalition (FPC) letter responding to the DOL's December request for industry information. The FPC is made up of three of the financial services industry's prominent associations: the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, the Financial Planning Association (FPA) and the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA). The coalition's objective is to provide industry input in crafting a new fiduciary standard.

The call to craft a fiduciary standard of investor client care for broker dealers and other financial advisors is an outgrowth of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Reform Act and President Barack Obama's push to overhaul the rules governing U.S. finance.              

"We continue to reiterate our concerns regarding [the DOL's] plans to re-issue their rule redefining the term fiduciary,'' said David Bellaire, FSI general counsel and director of government affairs.

Bellaire described the coalition's work  as "of paramount importance and will be instrumental in the effort to protect Main Street Americans' access to affordable financial advice. We intend to share whatever relevant information we have available, and to help the DOL better understand our industry and the critical role it plays in helping Americans plan for the future.''

Bellaire said the FSI is also looking forward to the DOL "sharing their evidence of problems prompting this pending rule, hopefully dispelling the conventional wisdom that it's a solution in search of a problem."