The U.S. federal securities laws, the Commodity Exchange Act and regulations thereunder, and certain other applicable federal laws, rules and regulations, as well as rules of U.S. self-regulatory organizations (such as the...more
2/9/2022
/ Beneficial Owner ,
CFTC ,
Cooperative Compliance Regime ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Investment Adviser ,
Large Traders ,
Private Funds ,
Private Placements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Required Forms ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation
The U.S. Department of Labor (the “DOL”) on June 29, 2020 issued a release (the “Release”) proposing an important new initiative for retirement accounts (“Plans”) that are subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security...more
7/20/2020
/ 1975 Rule ,
Banks ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Brokers ,
Comment Period ,
Covered Transactions ,
Defined Contribution Plans ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Exemptions ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Five-Part Test ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Insurance Industry ,
Investment Adviser ,
New Guidance ,
Prohibited Transactions ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Comment ,
Regulation Best Interest ,
Retirement Plan ,
Rollover Equity
The world of benefits regulation has seen significant change lately, with the enactment of tax reform in 2017 (see “Focus on ERISA - Tax Reform Includes Benefits and Compensation Provisions”), and the rise and fall of the...more
12/20/2019
/ 529 Plans ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Contributions ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Home Healthcare Workers ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
Multi-Employer Pensions ,
New Legislation ,
Part-Time Employees ,
PBGC ,
Portability ,
Public Employees ,
Required Minimum Distributions ,
Retirement Funds ,
Safe Harbors ,
SECURE Act ,
Tax Credits ,
Tax Deductions ,
Tax Qualified Plans ,
Withdrawal
The U.S. Department of Labor (the “DOL”) released its first set of FAQs (the “FAQs”) regarding the DOL’s recently finalized “investment advice” regulation and various related exemptions (collectively, the “Final Rules”) on...more
11/8/2016
/ Best Interest Contract Exemptions ,
Compensation Agreements ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Exceptions ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Final Rules ,
Insurance Industry ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
Investment Adviser ,
Prohibited Transactions
Earlier this year, the U.S. Supreme Court decided the case of Amgen v. Harris, in which the Court revisited and clarified its 2014 holding in Dudenhoeffer v. Fifth Third Bancorp.2 Both cases concern the application of a...more
7/11/2016
/ Amgen ,
Amgen v Harris ,
Breach of Duty ,
Class Action ,
Duty of Prudence ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
FIfth Third Bancorp v Dudenhoeffer ,
Moench Presumption ,
More Harm Than Good Standard ,
Plan Administrators ,
Pleading Standards ,
Retirement Plan ,
SCOTUS ,
Stock Drop Litigation
The U.S. Department of Labor (the “DOL”) on April 6, 2016 released the final version of its “investment advice” regulation and accompanying prohibited transaction exemptions, a highly-anticipated milestone that is the...more
5/27/2016
/ Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Best Interest Contract Exemptions ,
Brokers ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Final Rules ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Investment Adviser ,
Retirement Plan
In its June 2014 decision in Dudenhoeffer v. Fifth Third Bank, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously declined to recognize a “presumption of prudence” that had favored retirement-plan fiduciaries faced with allegations of...more
Over the years, U.S. employers that sponsor “401(k)” and other retirement plans, and plan fiduciaries, have increasingly become the subject of significant and potentially expensive litigation under the Employee Retirement...more
Earlier this week, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously decided the case of Tibble v. Edison International. In Tibble, the Court held that the statute of limitations under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974...more
Two of the leading shareholder proxy advisory firms, Institutional Shareholder Services (“ISS”) and Glass Lewis & Co. ("Glass Lewis"), released updates to their proxy voting guidelines for the 2015 proxy season. In sum, there...more
The U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari on October 2, 2014 in the case of Tibble v. Edison International, for the narrow purpose of reviewing the holding by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals that the statute of limitations...more
Under Section 457A of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (the “Code”), certain offshore and other entities are limited in their ability to provide tax-effective deferred compensation to providers of services to those...more
Certain retirement plans, such as employee stock ownership plans (“ESOPs”), are specifically designed to invest all or a portion of their assets in stock of the sponsoring employer. For nearly twenty years, the federal courts...more
Under Section 457A of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (the “Code”), certain offshore and other entities are limited in their ability to provide tax-effective deferred compensation to providers of services to those entities....more
6/13/2014
/ Deferred Compensation ,
Equity Compensation ,
Executive Compensation ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
Investment Funds ,
IRS ,
Private Equity Funds ,
SAR ,
Section 457A ,
Stock Options ,
Tax Planning
Earlier this week, on March 25, 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a highly publicized decision in the case of United States v. Quality Stores. In Quality Stores, the Court unanimously held that the severance payments...more
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case of Fifth Third Bancorp v. Dudenhoeffer, in which the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, in response to a motion to dismiss, declined to adopt a presumption of prudence in favor of a...more
The U.S. Treasury Department announced on July 2, 2013 that the employer shared-responsibility payments (commonly referred to as the “employer mandate” or the “employer penalties”) under the Patient Protection and Affordable...more
As we previously reported, earlier in 2013 the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) approved certain new listing requirements for the NYSE and NASDAQ effective July 1, 2013. The new listing requirements implement...more