The DOL has not appealed the decision in the Florida Federal District Court that vacated its fiduciary “re-interpretation.” That re-interpretation, in effect, said that ongoing investment advice to a rollover IRA could be...more
Last week, the Department of Labor (DOL) announced additional delays to major aspects of its fiduciary rule by proposing to extend certain transition period deadlines and applicability dates by 18 months. If finalized, full...more
Implementation Date - The first phase of the DOL’s fiduciary rule is scheduled to be implemented on June 9, 2017. ...more
Though many in the financial services industry were hoping for a reprieve, anyone who receives compensation for providing investment advice in connection with an ERISA plan or IRA will be considered a fiduciary effective June...more
Three items of key importance with respect to the Department of Labor’s (“DOL”) rule changing the definition of the term “fiduciary” (the “Fiduciary Rule”) happened on May 22, 2017: 1. Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta...more
Earlier this week, Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta indicated in a Wall Street Journal op-ed article that there will be no further delay as to the parts of the fiduciary rule issued by the Department of Labor (DOL) that...more
On April 4, 2017 the U.S. Department of Labor issued an order effective April 9, 2017, stating that implementation of the so-called investor Fiduciary Rule applicable to Individual Retirement Accounts will be delayed until...more
The rule is delayed by 60 days, with core elements taking effect June 9 as the DOL conducts a study. The Department of Labor (DOL) has issued in final form its eagerly awaited delay of changes to the fiduciary investment...more
On April 7, the Department of Labor (DOL) formally adopted its previously proposed 60-day delay of the applicability date of its fiduciary conflict-of-interest rule and related prohibited transaction exemptions (PTEs). The...more
Today, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) published its final rule delaying the applicability dates of its rule changing the definition of the term “fiduciary” (the “Fiduciary Rule”) and related prohibited transactions...more
Last week, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued long-awaited guidance in the form of answers to 34 frequently asked questions (the FAQs) on its final rule (the Rule) for determining when a party is a fiduciary, by virtue...more
On April 6, 2016, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued its highly anticipated final rule addressing when a person is considered to be a fiduciary under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and the...more
On July 7, 2016, DOL released technical corrections to its two new exemptions published in April 2016 in conjunction with the Final Rule: ..The Best Interest Contract Exemption (BICE), now officially designated as...more
Editor's Overview - In this month’s newsletter, our colleagues focus on two sets of legislative updates. First is a discussion of the IRS’s proposed Treasury Regulations prescribing rules under Section 457 of the...more
The Department of Labor’s (“Department”) Fiduciary Rule and related Best Interest Contract Exemption and Prohibited Transaction Exemption amendments (collectively, the “Regulatory Package”) have faced significant resistance...more
Under ERISA and the Code, a fiduciary to a plan or IRA includes a person who renders investment advice for a fee. ERISA imposes safeguards on a fiduciary by applying standards of care and duties of loyalty and penalizing a...more
The U. S. Department of Labor’s Conflict of Interest regulatory package (the “COI Rules”) reaches far more than traditional trustees named in retirement plan documents. Many financial advisors, tax advisors, investment...more
Final rule reflects some concessions, but its broad scope and compliance costs will cause financial services advisers to re-evaluate their business models. On April 6, 2016, the US Department of Labor (the DOL) released...more
After years of debate and speculation, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued its final package of rules to regulate individuals and entities that provide investment advice to retirement plans and IRA investors. The DOL’s...more
While only the plan service providers, like brokers, are required to comply with the requirements of the revised and new prohibited transaction class exemptions contained in the package with the definition of...more
Editor's Overview - This month we feature three key developments. First, we review the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Gobeille v. Liberty Mut. Ins. Co., 136 S. Ct. 936, 947 (2016) wherein the Supreme Court held that a...more
After much controversy and criticism, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued a final conflict of interest rule on April 6th (the “Final Rule”) which expands the definition of a fiduciary for an “employee benefit plan,” as...more
Earlier this month, the Department of Labor finally released the long-awaited “Definition of Fiduciary; Conflict of Interest Rule.” This blog post is intended to do two things...more
On April 8, 2016, the Department of Labor (DOL) released the much anticipated final regulation to broaden the scope of fiduciary status under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and the Internal...more
Wisconsin is home to over 10,000 registered broker-dealers, all of whom currently operate without owing federally imposed fiduciary duties. Unlike some of their peers in other states, Wisconsin broker-dealers generally do not...more