"ERISA says unambiguously that people and firms that give investment advice to people in retirement plans are fiduciaries and that fiduciaries cannot generally have disabling conflicts of interest. This is not a new idea. It has been the law for close to half a century. But in 1975 the [DOL] adopted a regulation that artificially constricted the meaning of investment advice.... Well, the world in 1975 was a very different world than it is today. Steve Jobs was still tinkering in his dad's garage, e-mail meant mail in envelopes, Jennifer Aniston was in first grade, and more pertinent, the 401(k) plan had not yet been invented and only a few thousand individual retirement accounts had been opened."  MORE >>