Rebalance Lauds Initial Implementation of DOL Fiduciary Rule as a Tremendous ‘Win’ for Retirement Savers

Rebalance cautions against any attempts to water down aspects of the Rule, and encourages investors to protect themselves by asking the right questions

Washington D.C, June 9, 2017 – Rebalance, a leading pro-consumer investment firm that is at the forefront of providing Americans with a fundamentally different and better set of retirement investment options, today shared its support and encouragement following the first phase of DOL Fiduciary Rule implementation, a watershed moment not only for the financial services sector, but more importantly for the millions of American investors whose financial advisors must now serve as fiduciaries, acting solely in their client’s best interest.

Rebalance believes that the DOL Fiduciary Rule as a whole represents a “level playing field” of rules and pro-consumer protections within the personal finance industry, essentially a tool for American consumers. However, the firm emphasizes how equally important it is for investors to ask their investment advisors the hard questions: “how much am I paying all-in?” “do you experience conflicts of interest managing my account?” and “do you have a legal obligation to put my best interests first?” To further support consumer education, Rebalance released the “Dear Advisor” letter to all Americans, empowering individuals with the tool that they need to make better-informed investment decisions.

The implementation of this rule by the Department of Labor is an important first step in establishing a fiduciary standard,” said Scott Puritz, Managing Director at Rebalance. “The ongoing battle for complete consumer protection will continue surrounding other important aspects of the rule slated for implementation in January 2018.”

Rebalance and Managing Director Scott Puritz have participated in the Save Our Retirement coalition, an organization created to advocate for establishing a fiduciary requirement in a spirited battle with the financial establishment. Staunchly in support of the rule, Puritz testified before Senate, and in April 2016 Rebalance received recognition from Secretary Perez during his keynote speech announcing the rule’s promulgation.

While the financial services industry has long opposed the DOL Fiduciary Rule implementation, we believe that it will create an environment where competition and innovation can flourish,” said Puritz. “This will result in free market dynamics leading to the widest array of investment options at the lowest cost for the American consumer.”

About Rebalance
Rebalance is one of America’s leading investment firms that is at the forefront of providing consumers with a fundamentally different and better set of retirement investment options: lower costs, “endowment-quality” globally-diversified retirement investment portfolios, and systematic rebalancing. This investment approach is combined with a team of sophisticated and highly credentialed finance professionals who provide advice that is unbiased and focuses on the client’s long-term retirement investment goals.

The Firm’s Investment Committee is anchored by three of the most respected experts in the finance world: Princeton Economics Professor Burton Malkiel, author of the classic investment book, A Random Walk Down Wall Street; Dr. Charles Ellis, the former longtime chairman of the Yale University Endowment; and Jay Vivian, the former Managing Director of IBM’s $100+ billion in retirement investment funds for more than 300,000 employees worldwide.

Rebalance’s innovative, pro-consumer approach to retirement investing has garnered high profile coverage. The Firm, and its leadership, regularly have been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, NPR, Fox, PBS, Forbes, USA Today, CNBC, Nightly Business Review, CBS, The Washington Post, The Economist, and a wide range of other national and local media. Managing Directors Scott Puritz and Mitchell Tuchman are acknowledged industry thought leaders, and Mr. Puritz testified before a U.S. Senate Committee evaluating the U.S. Department of Labor’s new fiduciary rule.

Rebalance is headquartered in Palo Alto, CA. and Bethesda, MD., and currently manages more than $460 million of client assets.

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Kate Caruso-Sharpe
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