With a swipe of his pen, U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday started killing off a retirement advice rule that wealth managers from Wall Street to Wisconsin have spent the last six years lobbying against.
A landmark policy from the Obama era, the so-called fiduciary rule requires brokers and financial advisors to act in the best interest of retirement savers. This restricts their ability to earn commissions and to sell some higher-fee products.
Wall Street has argued it would harm consumers because it would raise compliance costs and therefore fees, and force them to get rid of Main Street clients and small businesses that offer 401(k) plans.
Trump's executive order asks the Labor Department to review whether the rule needs to be changed or dumped.
Later Friday, the U.S. Labor Department said it is looking into delaying the implementation date of its new rule. "The Department of Labor will now consider its legal options to delay the applicability of the date as we comply with the president's memorandum," Acting U.S. Secretary of Labor Ed Hugler said in a statement.
Both supporters and opponents are girding to argue their case. But the industry has the edge, with Trump officials stating they were planning on rolling back regulation generally and criticizing the fiduciary rule in particular.
The Chamber of Commerce, one of a number of trade groups which have filed lawsuits to kill the rule, cheered Trump's order.
"We look forward to swift action from the Department of Labor in putting this delay into effect and reevaluating matters of policy and law," the Chamber said in a statement.
Shares of banks with large wealth management divisions jumped on Friday with Bank of America up 2.5 percent, Morgan Stanley 5.5 percent stronger and Wells Fargo over 2 percent higher.
Insurers, whose sales of annuity products were at risk from the rule, also rose, with shares of Prudential up 1.9 percent and Metlife 1 percent stronger.
"Everyone will be pleased that DOL's rush to get it done before the administration change is set back," said Judi Carsrud, director of government relations for the National Association of Insurance Financial Advisors (NAIFA), which has been fighting the rule for years.