Another industry-funded “study” attempting to derail the Department of Labor’s fiduciary rulemaking was published this week. The study, conducted by NERA Economic Consulting and commissioned by the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA), tries unsuccessfully to discredit the White House Council of Economic Advisers’ Report, “The Effects of Conflicted Investment Advice on Retirement Savings.”

The White House Report was based on a careful review of the relevant academic literature relating to the costs that conflicted advice has on retirement savers. The White House’s essential finding was that conflicts of interest have large and meaningful costs for Americans’ retirement savings. The White House estimated that, based on the value of assets invested according to conflicted advice ($1.7 trillion), and the estimated effect of conflict on investment returns (1 percent loss in annual returns), the total dollar cost of conflicted investment advice is at least $17 billion per year.