When word got out that the Department of Labor (DOL) was issuing its proposed fiduciary rule this week—and that President Joe Biden would speak on its framing—the retirement planning advisory industry had a lot to say.

According to Qualified Plan Advisors, under the proposal, a person would be a fiduciary if he or she provides investment advice or makes an investment recommendation to a retirement investor (e.g., plan, plan fiduciary, plan participant, IRA owner) for a fee or other compensation in one of three contexts:

1. The person directly or indirectly has discretionary authority or control over the investor’s investment property;
2. The person makes investment recommendations to investors on a regular basis as part of his or her business and the recommendation is provided under circumstances indicating it is based on the investor’s particular needs; or
3. The person represents or acknowledges that he or she is a fiduciary.