Several US states and a major national group are seeking to prevent the DoL Fiduciary Rule from being derailed.

The embattled fiduciary rule of the Department of Labor is being targeted for a rescue bid by three state attorneys general and bi-partizan group AARP, amid fears that the pace of reform could slacken, according to a news report.

Senior legal figures in California, New York and Oregon have filed a petition in the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, asking for the court's permission to intervene as a defendant in a lawsuit against the DoL regulation, which was struck down in a March 15 split decision by a three-judge panel of the 5th Circuit. AARP separately filed papers in the 5th Circuit on Thursday last week, also asking the court to make it a defendant, according to InvestmentNews.

The report said the US Department of Justice, on behalf of the DoL, has until April 30 to appeal the decision. So far it hasn’t said what it intends to do.

The push to adopt a fiduciary rule, including the key feature of a “best interests” test to ensure the interests of clients take front and center of practice, has been a talking point in the US wealth industry for years. Already, a number of firms have adjusted how they charge for financial services, such as in the case of Merrill Lynch. The DoL rule and demands from consumers have seen a shift to fee-based advice, squeezing traditional broker-dealers and working to the benefit of registered investment advisors. Across the Atlantic, the UK adopted reforms in 2013 called the Retail Distribution Review that was designed to stamp out use of trail commissions and encourage up-front charging for advice. That reform squeezed some advisors out of the sector, creating an "advice gap" as some firms hiked their investment minimums.

Wealth management firms have told this publication that recent legal challenges will not stop a move towards more fee-based advice in the US sector.

"We're hoping the court will recognize that every consumer in America, every saver planning for retirement in America really deserves to have a full-throttled defense of the fiduciary rule, and we don't believe that the Trump administration will do that," California attorney general Xavier Becerra was quoted by the report as telling journalists in a conference call.

"We're hoping that between AARP's petition and the states' petition, that there will be a good chance of [the court's] granting an en banc review," AARP attorney Mary Ellen Signorelle was also quoted as telling journalists.

Recent proposed moves by the Security and Exchange Commission, the principal US financial regulator, have drawn frowns from some in the sector for being over-complex, as reported by Family Wealth Report a few days ago.