“The delays provided by the DOL are necessary to give the appropriate time needed to conduct the examination the president directed—which reflects IRI’s well-found, ongoing and significant concerns about the rule,” said Weatherford. “However, IRI is disappointed to see that the department did not delay all the provisions of the rule. The president directed the department to examine all questions of law and policy raised by the rule, the potential harm that could be caused to retirement savers, as well as potential market disruptions that could occur from the department’s failure to delay all the provisions of the rule.”

After being approved last year, the rule went into effect last summer, but most of the standards it established, like the Best Interest Contract Exemption, were not applicable until April 10, at the earliest. Under the delay, applicability for most aspects of the rule will move to June 9.

The delay does not impact the rule’s full applicability date of Jan. 1, 2018. In the meantime, advisors are left in the middle, wondering when the rule will go into effect, and what the rule will look like when it does.

For most, including Drew Horter, founder, president and chief investment strategist of Horter Investment Management in Cincinnati, the safest long-term bet is to continue preparing for the onset of the rule as it was presented in its “final” form last year.

"Horter is just getting an additional 60 days to prepare for the rule," Horter said. "It’s very difficult to predict what will ultimately happen to this rule, but given the level of support for the rule during the most recent comment period we believe it will be extremely difficult for the DOL to simply revoke the rule in its entirety. Horter will continue to prepare as though some or all of the rule will survive in 2017.

Douglas Lyons, founder of Douglas J. Lyons Financial Group in Red Bank, N.J., says the delay gives financial advisors more time to prepare for implementing the rule, but he adds, “I would not be surprised if the rule is diluted by the time it is implemented.

“We are fiduciaries and I would like to see that extended to others in the industry. I would also like to see more clarification for the public on what the different designations mean.”

The rule’s supporters, including U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), rallied against the DOL’s move on Wednesday.

“Altogether, families stand to lose nearly $4 billion because of the two-month fiduciary rule delay the Trump administration just finalized,” said Warren in released comments. “That money matters—it’s the difference between retiring with dignity and fighting to stretch every dollar as far as it will go. President Trump and Republicans in Congress may want to make it easier for big banks to cheat their customers, but we’re fighting back for a fair marketplace and to protect families’ retirement savings.”

Warren helped unveil a “Retirement Ripoff Counter,” similar to the U.S. Debt Clock, to count the cost of the delay based on a recent White House Council of Economic Advisors report that concluded that conflicted financial advice costs Americans $17 billion a year, which comes to roughly $532 each second.

At Betterment for Business, associate general counsel Seth Rosenbloom also voiced his concern over the rule’s delay.