[F]or [SEC Chairman Jay] Clayton to truly fight for savers and uphold the principles from his speech, he should build upon last year’s Department of Labor fiduciary rule, rather than undermine it and start from scratch….Building from DOL’s rule should be music to Clayton’s ears under his sixth and seventh principles: “effective rulemaking does not end with rule adoption” — it requires rigorous analyses and detailed input — and “the costs of a rule now often include the cost of demonstrating compliance.”

Acting alone ignores the DOL’s extensive analysis and consultation, the significant compliance costs already borne by firms, and even the cost-benefit analyses conducted under Trump’s DOL that found the loss to investors by delaying the rule greatly exceeded reduced compliance costs for the interim.

If Clayton truly wishes to implement the principles he has laid out for the SEC to protect investors, he should start by endorsing the DOL rule as a solid, carefully crafted approach that has been thoroughly vetted and is well on its way to implementation.

Source: SEC should follow the Labor Department’s fiduciary standard – MarketWatch