Dalbar has created a free online test to help advisors determine whether they are prepared to comply with the Department of Labor's fiduciary rule's June 9 compliance date.
The self-study training program can be completed in less than one minute with online video training available for advisors who need to catch up, the financial services research and evaluation firm said Wednesday.
"Thousands of advisors who are now the broker of record for IRAs or ERISA plans become fiduciaries overnight," Dalbar said in a statement announcing the online test. "The new regulations require major changes in sales practices, compensation limits and how rollovers are handled."
The first question asks: "What areas must change for the June 9 implementation of the fiduciary rule?"
The rule will require advisors to "immediately adopt a formal process" to discover what a client's best interests are and make recommendations based only on the client's best interests, Dalbar said.
"While this process may not be entirely new to many advisors, the scope of discovery, required documentation and the use of the process with every client will be a challenge for most advisors."
