The Department of Labor issued a final release (the “Final Release”) which (1) finalized changes to its 1975 rule defining when institutions and individuals are providing fiduciary “investment advice” to plans that are...more
5/9/2024
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Congressional Review Act ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Excise Tax ,
Exemptions ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Insurance Industry ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
Investment ,
Investment Adviser ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Prohibited Transactions ,
Retirement Plan
On April 3, 2024, the Department of Labor (the “DOL”) issued its final amendment (“Final Amendment”) to Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 84-14, commonly referred to as the “QPAM Exemption”.
Generally, the QPAM...more
4/9/2024
/ Criminal Convictions ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disqualification ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Exemptions ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Management ,
New Amendments ,
Non-Prosecution Agreements ,
QPAM ,
Recordkeeping Requirements
The Department of Labor (“DOL”) on October 31, 2023—Halloween—issued a release (the “Release”) proposing to make changes to the 1975 rule (the “1975 Rule”) defining when institutions and individuals are providing fiduciary...more
11/3/2023
/ Banks ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Compliance ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Management ,
IRS ,
Proposed Rules ,
QPAM ,
Retirement Plan ,
Robo-Advisors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
The Securities and Exchange Commission on June 15, 2022 requested comments related to information providers (such as index providers, model portfolio providers and pricing services) whose activities the SEC believes may bring...more
Overview The U.S. Department of Labor (the “DOL”) on December 15, 2020 issued a release (the “Release”) finalizing Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption (“PTCE”) 2020-2 (the “Final Exemption”) for retirement accounts...more
1/20/2021
/ Best Interest Standard ,
Biden Administration ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Management ,
Regulation BI ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Retirement Plan ,
Rollover Equity
Last week, the U.S. Department of Labor (the “DOL”) on December 15, 2020 issued a release (the “Release”) finalizing an important new initiative for retirement accounts (“Plans”) that are subject to the Employee Retirement...more
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
This week, on June 29, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (the “DOL”) issued a release (the “Release”) proposing an important new initiative for retirement accounts (“Plans”) that are subject to the Employee Retirement Income...more
Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on June 1, 2020 in Thole v. U.S. Bank that a participant in a defined benefit (“DB”) plan is constitutionally barred from bringing a fiduciary-breach (or similar) claim under the...more
6/11/2020
/ Article III ,
Breach of Duty ,
Defined Benefit Plans ,
Duty of Loyalty ,
Duty of Prudence ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Injury-in-Fact ,
Investment Adviser ,
Mismanagement ,
Pensions ,
Plan Participants ,
Retirement Plan ,
SCOTUS ,
Standing ,
Thole v U.S. Bank
Massachusetts’ Secretary of the Commonwealth, William F. Galvin, caused the Securities Division to issue, on November 29, 2019, a revised proposed uniform standard of conduct for broker-dealers, investment advisers, and their...more
1/3/2020
/ Blue Sky Laws ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Duty of Loyalty ,
Federal v State Law Application ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Investment Adviser ,
Preemption ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Hearing ,
Registered Investment Advisors ,
Regulation Best Interest ,
Standard of Conduct ,
State Securities Regulators
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, on June 5, 2019, voted 3-1 in favor of adopting a package of rules, amendments and interpretations (Final Rules) intended to improve the retail investor experience and to provide...more
6/12/2019
/ Best Interest Standard ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Compliance ,
Compliance Dates ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Duty of Care ,
Duty of Loyalty ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Form CRS ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
New Rules ,
Regulation Best Interest ,
Retail Investors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Standard of Conduct
The U.S. Department of Labor’s amended “investment advice” fiduciary rule need no longer ask for whom the bell tolls. It tolls for thee. So - ding dong, the rule is dead....more