NAIFA plans to pursue a "very straightforward" fix such as a "legislative approach" that directs retirement account advisers to act in clients' best interest - a standard that Carsrud believes the group's members already meet.

Changes Already Underway

The Obama administration had said conflicted advice costs American families $17 billion a year but the industry has said that figure was inflated.

No-one disputes the high cost that firms would have to pay to comply with the new rule, an amount the Labor Department estimates at as much as $31 billion over the next decade.

Banks have already started changing things with Bank of America saying this week it would more clearly disclose the fees it charges clients of its Merrill Lynch wealth management business.

Bank of America Corp had already started cutting back on "transactional" accounts that charge clients a commission for every trade, rather than a flat fee based on assets.

Morgan Stanley has decided to keep such accounts but is making changes that will allow advisers to work within the rule's confines by creating new contracts, re-training advisors and updating supervisory software.

Swiss bank UBS welcomed Trump's order and said it supported the creation of a fiduciary rule under the Securities and Exchange Commission, which could apply to all advisers not just retirement advisers.

Wells Fargo said it would continue to work with regulators to ensure higher standards of care for investment clients. Other banks either declined to comment or were not immediately available to comment.

Implementing changes was particularly tough for small-time financial advisers.

Along with two colleagues, Juli McNeely, who runs McNeely Financial Services in Spencer, Wisconsin has spent between 45 and 60 hours each week since December preparing for the rule.

Their work has focused largely on figuring out which clients from their rural community should now pay a flat fee for financial advice, instead of commissions, and creating new templates for paperwork.

"Now we have a little breathing room to make sure we do this right and not quickly to meet a deadline," said McNeely, who voted for Trump, in part because of his pro-business stance.

An Honest Process

One person who has yet to comment on the retirement rule review is the person who will be at the center of it -- Trump's choice to head the Labor Department, Andy Puzder.