(Reuters) – Bank of America Corp’s wealth management arm Merrill Lynch said on Thursday it is reintroducing commissions for its retirement accounts, reversing a policy put in place to comply with Obama-era regulation.
Merrill Lynch, along with JPMorgan Chase & Co, effectively banned brokerage retirement accounts last June and began moving clients into advisory accounts to prepare for the U.S. Department of Labor’s so-called fiduciary rule meant to curb conflicts of interests for financial advisers.
The fiduciary rule was overturned in March by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. At that time, Merrill executives said the firm would keep the policy in place to serve the best interests of its clients.
The company is now reversing that policy and expects to add a brokerage option back to individual retirement accounts by Oct. 1.
Source: Reuters
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