Labor Department delays investment advice rule

The Department of Labor today announced it postponed the effective date of a controversial Bush administration investment advice regulation until May 17, 2010. This is the third time the DOL has delayed the effective date of the Bush administration advice rule; it had originally been delayed to May 22. Without the latest extension, the regulation would have gone into effect Nov. 18. The DOL has been working on revamping the Bush administration rule, which would have cleared the way for mutual fund companies to offer direct one-on-one advice through their affiliates to defined contribution plan participants. “The department believes that the complexity and significance of the issues involved justify delaying the effective and applicability dates of the final rule for an additional 180 days,” the DOL said in a document that is to be published in the Federal Register on Nov. 17. “This additional time will allow the department to complete its analysis of the issues of law and policy and determine the appropriate steps to be taken,” the document said. Doug Halonen is a reporter at Pensions & Investments, a sister publication of InvestmentNews