Lawyers representing the National Association for Fixed Annuities told a U.S. District judge Thursday that individual insurance agents would be forced to become registered investment advisors under the Department of Labor's fiduciary rule and that the current distribution system for fixed indexed annuities would have to be reworked.

Judge Randolph Moss, U.S. District judge for the District of Columbia, heard oral arguments for close to three hours Thursday in the first hearing against DOL's rule, but did not immediately render a decision.

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'Overreach' by DOL?

Philip Bartz, a partner at Bryan Cave and a former U.S. Justice Department lawyer, said during his arguments that DOL's rule embodies "overreach" by DOL to "do things that Congress never intended" and that it's "at odds" with state insurance law.

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Melanie Waddell

Melanie is senior editor and Washington bureau chief of ThinkAdvisor. Her ThinkAdvisor coverage zeros in on how politics, policy, legislation and regulations affect the investment advisory space. Melanie’s coverage has been cited in various lawmakers’ reports, letters and bills, and in the Labor Department’s fiduciary rule in 2024. In 2019, Melanie received an Honorable Mention, Range of Work by a Single Author award from @Folio. Melanie joined Investment Advisor magazine as New York bureau chief in 2000. She has been a columnist since 2002. She started her career in Washington in 1994, covering financial issues at American Banker. Since 1997, Melanie has been covering investment-related issues, holding senior editorial positions at American Banker publications in both Washington and New York. Briefly, she was content chief for Internet Capital Group’s EFinancialWorld in New York and wrote freelance articles for Institutional Investor. Melanie holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Towson University. She interned at The Baltimore Sun and its suburban edition.