(Washington)

Many advisors are hoping the SEC will dive headlong into the fiduciary rule debate and quickly put in place a new fiduciary standard of their own. SEC chairman Jay Clayton has said it is a priority, and hopes got a big boost this week as the SEC is holding a pubic meeting to discuss the specifics of forming a new rule. However, those hoping for a quick resolution will be sorely disappointed, as there are still many steps, and many potential pitfalls, before the rule could become a reality. In particular, the DOL could still challenge its court loss, and many lawsuits could hold up the implementation of any SEC-proposed rule.

FINSUM: When you really take a look at the procedure and the legal risks, the timeline to actually get a new rule in place seems very far away indeed.