On May 28, 2025, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) took two major steps that signal a shift in its approach to fiduciary oversight under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (ERISA)....more
The Department of Labor (DOL) has issued a new regulation defining fiduciary “investment advice” under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), as amended, and Section 4975 of the Internal Revenue Code of...more
On April 3, 2024, the Department of Labor (DOL) published final changes to Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 84-14, commonly known as the “QPAM Exemption”. The changes make reliance on the QPAM Exemption more burdensome...more
In November 2023, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) released a new proposed regulation changing the definition of fiduciary “investment advice” under Title I of ERISA and Section 4975 of the Code. ...more
On July 26, 2022, the U.S. Department of Labor (the “Department”) issued a proposal to amend prohibited transaction class exemption 84-14 (the “QPAM Exemption”) under ERISA. The QPAM Exemption currently allows a plan’s...more
On June 29, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (the Department) formally reinstated its “five-part test” for determining what constitutes “investment advice” under ERISA and Section 4975 of the Internal Revenue Code (the...more
7/29/2020
/ Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Best Interest Contract Exemptions ,
Comment Period ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Duty of Loyalty ,
Duty of Prudence ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Management ,
Investors ,
IRA Rollovers ,
Prohibited Transactions ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Comment ,
Retirement Plan
Recently, the U.S. Supreme Court granted a writ of certiorari to hear Retirement Plans Committee of IBM v. Jander, a case about the legal standard for pleading a claim for breach of fiduciary duties under the Employee...more
ERISA imposes stringent conduct standards (and potential liability) on any person who acts as a “fiduciary,” a term that includes a person who renders “investment advice” to an ERISA plan or an IRA. The DOL has issued a...more
The delay came in response to the Presidential Memorandum issued on February 3, 2017, regarding the Fiduciary Rule. The Presidential Memorandum directed the DOL to conduct an updated impact assessment on whether the Rule “may...more
The DOL’s proposal comes in response to the Presidential Memorandum issued on February 3, 2017, regarding the Fiduciary Rule. The Presidential Memorandum directed the DOL to conduct an updated impact assessment on whether the...more
In conjunction with its issuance in April 2016 of a new regulation redefining the concept of “investment advice” for purposes of fiduciary status under ERISA and Section 4975 of the Code, the Department of Labor amended a...more
9/28/2016
/ Covered Transactions ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Exemptions ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Impartiality ,
Investment Adviser ,
Mutual Funds ,
PTEs