The Federation of Americans for Consumer Choice v. Department of Labor case was the first case challenging the Department of Labor’s 2024 retirement security rule defining who is an investment advice fiduciary. It was...more
The Department of Labor’s final definition of “investment advice” fiduciary regulation makes many more individuals fiduciaries under both the Employee Retirement Income Security Act and the Internal Revenue Code. Where for...more
Last Lap in SEC RILA Rulemaking Critical Unresolved Issues -
Congress directed the SEC to adopt a new registration statement for registered indexed annuities (RILAs) by the end of June. Several months ago, the SEC...more
5/29/2024
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Broker-Dealer ,
CFTC ,
Climate Change ,
Cybersecurity ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Management ,
Life Insurance ,
NAIC ,
NLRB ,
Private Equity ,
Private Funds ,
Private Placements ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Retirement Plan ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
For decades, both the federal and state governments have been working to tackle the coverage gaps in our retirement system. In the race for retirement readiness, dark horses like state plans with mandatory adoption...more
5/17/2024
/ Compensation & Benefits ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Retirement ,
Retirement Plan ,
Safe Harbors ,
SECURE Act
On April 23, 2024, the Department of Labor published its long-awaited final retirement security rule broadening the definition of who is an “investment advice fiduciary” under section 3(21) of the Employee Retirement Income...more
The IRS recently published a private letter ruling (No. 202341002) dealing with the tax treatment of advisory fees paid to an adviser from an “adviser life insurance contract.” Specifically, the letter ruling addressed...more
Funds Not Caged by SEC Names Rule Amendments: Roaming Room Remains -
The SEC recently adopted amendments to its investment company “names” rule that apply to most SEC-registered funds, including underlying funds in which...more
1/11/2024
/ Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Insurance Industry ,
Investment Funds ,
Life Insurance ,
Proposed Rules ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Retirement Plan ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Traders ,
Whistleblowers
On Friday, November 3, the Federal Register published the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) latest attempt to redefine who is an “investment advice fiduciary” under ERISA. In conjunction with the regulatory proposal, the...more
For broker-dealers distributing and selling variable annuities, examinations will test for compliance with Reg BI and FINRA Rule 2330 because both standards apply to variable annuity sales. Firms distributing and selling...more
More than 25 years have elapsed since the SEC adopted Exchange Act Rule 17a-4(f) governing electronic recordkeeping by broker-dealers. In an effort to update the rule to reflect “technology neutral” concepts, the SEC adopted...more
Almost one year from the date it updated its investment duties regulation (29 C.F.R. § 2550.404a-1), triggering our previous article “DOL to Plan Sponsors: ‘It’s All About the Benjamins!,’” the Department of Labor (DOL)...more
In June, the IRS issued two private letter rulings (PLRs) dealing with fee-based annuities. The facts of these two PLRs are generally identical to the facts of 17 PLRs issued by the IRS last November, with one important...more
On June 29, 2020, the Department of Labor (DOL) proposed a series of regulatory actions regarding the definition of “investment advice” under ERISA section 3(21). The proposed actions result from the Fifth Circuit’s decision...more
The U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts recently granted Fidelity’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit alleging that Fidelity and its affiliates violated ERISA’s fiduciary duties by receiving “infrastructure fees”...more
On May 13, 2019, Sens. Rob Portman (R. Ohio) and Ben Cardin (D. Md.) introduced the Retirement Security and Savings Act of 2019. Among other things, that bill would allow separate accounts supporting variable insurance...more
EXPECTFOCUS® is a quarterly review of developments in the insurance and financial services industry, provided on a complimentary basis to clients and friends of Carlton Fields Jorden Burt, P.A.
...more
5/1/2018
/ Best Interest Contract Exemptions ,
Best Interest Standard ,
CAFA ,
Class Action ,
COI Rates ,
Corporate Governance ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Elder Abuse ,
Failure To Pay ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Life Insurance ,
NAIC ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Statute of Limitations ,
TCPA
On March 15, the Fifth Circuit, in Chamber of Commerce, et. al. v. United States Department of Labor, a 46-page opinion, reversed the district court’s ruling upholding the Department of Labor (DOL) fiduciary rule and vacated...more
4/9/2018
/ Best Interest Contract Exemptions ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Insurance Industry ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Management ,
Life Insurance ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Retirement Plan
On November 24, while everyone was recuperating from their Thanksgiving feast, the NAIC's Annuity Suitability Working Group circulated the Working Group Chair's draft of proposed revisions to the Suitability in Annuity...more
In order for fiduciaries to receive compensation that varies based on their investment advice (e.g., commissions) or from third parties in connection with their advice (e.g., revenue sharing), they must comply with a...more
The Labor Department has proposed extending the applicability date of the Best Interest Contract Exemption, the Class Exemption for Principal Transactions in Certain Assets Between Investment Advice Fiduciaries, and certain...more
8/31/2017
/ Best Interest Contract Exemptions ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Management ,
PTE 84-24 ,
Retirement Plan
In This Issue:
- IN THE SPOTLIGHT
• Risky Business: Common Cyber Security Risks, Expensive Consequences
- LIFE INSURANCE
• Ninth Circuit Finds Bonus Indexed Annuity Delivers Exactly...more
6/26/2015
/ Accounting Fraud ,
Annuities ,
Bad Faith ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Captive Insurance Company ,
Consumer Financial Contracts ,
Covered Business Method Patents ,
Cybersecurity ,
Debt Collection ,
Disability Benefits ,
Drones ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fair Lending ,
FCC ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Healthcare ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Life Insurance ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
Patents ,
RICO ,
SAR ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Telemedicine ,
Unmanned Aircraft Systems ,
Variable Annuities ,
Virtual Currency
Nearly five years after proposing a failed rule that would have dramatically expanded the definition of fiduciary under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), the Department of Labor has decided to try...more
6/22/2015
/ 401k ,
Best Interest Contract Exemptions ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Excise Tax ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Health Savings Accounts ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Insurance Industry ,
IRS ,
Private Right of Action ,
Retirement ,
Retirement Plan ,
Section 404 ,
Wage and Hour
On May 18, the Supreme Court held, in Tibble v. Edison International that a fiduciary “has a continuing duty to monitor trust investments and remove imprudent ones. This continuing duty exists separate and apart from the...more
Last week, the IRS issued Notice 2014-66, providing a special rule that allows defined contribution pension plans to give participants a lifetime annuity income option by offering target date funds ("TDFs") that include...more
In This Issue:
- IN THE SPOTLIGHT
..Standard CGL Policy Form Adds Data Breach Coverage Exclusion
- LIFE INSURANCE
..Class Claims Against Lincoln National Barred in Section 419 Action – Again
...more
9/30/2014
/ Accredited Investors ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Burwell v Hobby Lobby ,
Class Action ,
Commercial General Liability Policies ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Creditors ,
Cyber Insurance ,
Data Brokers ,
Debt Collection ,
DMCA ,
Enforcement Actions ,
ESOP ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Foreclosure ,
Fraud-on-the-Market ,
Hallmark ,
Investment Adviser ,
Judge Rakoff ,
Life Insurance ,
NAIC ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patent-Eligible Subject Matter ,
Patents ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Proxy Advisors ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Settlement ,
Strategic Enforcement Plan ,
Taco Bell ,
TCPA ,
Text Messages ,
Variable Annuities ,
Whistleblowers