Google searches for ‘fiduciary duty’ spike as pending DOL rule gets closer

It’s only a matter of weeks until the proposed Department of Labor’s fiduciary rule drops.

Brokers and advisers are scrambling to understand what this legislation means for their businesses, but they’re not the only ones looking for more information. According to Google Trends, the key phrase “fiduciary duty” has been sprinkled in Google searches.

Searches for “fiduciary duty” have steadily grown in the past 10 years, but it has spiked recently with the impending fiduciary rule.

This map shows the regions with the most interest in searching “fiduciary duty.” Google Trends is based on a search volume index, which calculates the number of searches for a key word against the number of total searches on Google. The top five regions include the District of Columbia, New York, California, Massachusetts and Illinois. Western and Midwestern states did not come back with results.