As the Department of Labor Fiduciary Rule takes effect, firms are developing ways to ensure they comply with it effectively.

T Rowe Price Retirement Plan Services has signed up to the outsourced fiduciary service known as Envestnet | Retirement Solutions, or ERS, as the US wealth management sector continues to adapt to rule changes affecting how firms treat clients. ERS is part of New York-headquartered fintech firm Envestnet.

As a result of the latest announcement, ERS said it now supports more than $25 billion in assets under advisement via the service called Envestnet Fiduciary Advantage™. ERS's AuA figure translates into a 7.5 per cent rise in assets under advizement on a quarter-on-quarter basis, it said in a statement late last week.

US wealth firms are adjusting how they charge clients - such as switching to fee-based advice and away from commissions - as the Department of Labor Fiduciary Rule takes effect. The rule is designed, its framers say, to put the interests of clients' first and make advice more objective and less prone to bias and product-push.

“At a time when many advisors are still adapting to the fee-based business model, our flexible, single-source fiduciary channel empowers advisors working with retirement plan sponsors to deliver advice and solutions that are in every plan participant’s best interest,” Babu Sivadasan, ERS president, said.

ERS offers services including investment allocation recommendations with corresponding research reports; investment monitoring and quarterly monitoring reports.