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DOL Final Rule 4.0 - Correcting the historical record

From the 2010 outset of its project to extend ERISA fiduciary status broadly to financial intermediaries, including insurance agents, the US Department of Labor (DOL) has consistently relied on the evolution of the private...more

Unlocking the process: Guide to ERISA individual prohibited transaction exemptions

Since 1996, the US Department of Labor granted more than 1,200 individual exemptions from the ERISA prohibited transaction rules. One of the distinctive features of ERISA is its prohibition, in ERISA section 406 as a...more

Proposed ERISA regulation may facilitate ESG in retirement plans

On October 14, 2021, the US Department of Labor (DOL) proposed changes to ERISA regulations that would again shift the analysis of consideration of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors in retirement plans...more

DOL Fiduciary Rule 3.0: The sprint to December 20

As businesses return to work after Labor Day 2021, a principal focus for companies that serve US retirement plans will be the impending December 20 enforcement date for the Labor Department’s (DOL) latest fiduciary guidance...more

DOL warns the ERISA fiduciary debate is far from over

In a troubling development, the US Department of Labor (DOL) has announced its expectation that it will proceed to propose yet another iteration of investment advice guidance under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act...more

Courts weigh in on participant data under ERISA

A district court decision in March has added to the sparse authority regarding the status of participant data under ERISA, particularly whether recordkeepers or other providers can use that data to offer additional products...more

DOL proposes to formalize its ERISA guidance on ESG investing

On June 30, 2020, the US Department of Labor (DOL) published in the Federal Register a proposed rule that would regulate ERISA plan fiduciary conduct when considering investments under an environmental, social and governance...more

The emerging patchwork of fiduciary investment advice regulation – Putting the pieces together (update)

As anticipated, 2020 has seen a number of fiduciary and best interest advice regulations advance at both the federal and state levels. Firms subject to these regulations face challenges in dealing with rules that impose a...more

The emerging patchwork of fiduciary investment advice regulation – Putting the pieces together (update)

As anticipated, this year has seen a number of fiduciary and best interest investment advice regulations advance at both the federal and state levels. Firms subject to these regulations will face challenges in dealing with...more

The SEC’s new standard of conduct rules – application to retirement accounts

On June 5, 2019, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted its Regulation Best Interest (Rule 15l-1 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934), a rule that requires a broker-dealer registered with the SEC to act...more

The emerging patchwork of fiduciary investment advice regulation – Putting the pieces together (update)

By all accounts, 2019 will see a number of fiduciary and best interest investment advice regulations advance at both the federal and state levels. Firms subject to these regulations will face challenges in dealing with rules...more

The emerging patchwork of fiduciary investment advice regulation – Putting the pieces together

By all accounts, 2019 will see the advancement of a number of fiduciary and best interest investment advice regulations at both the federal and state levels. Firms subject to these regulations will face challenges in dealing...more

Proposed Regulation BI coverage of retirement investors

There is some debate about the intended scope of Regulation Best Interest (Regulation BI) as proposed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the case of retirement investors. Generally, proposed Regulation BI...more

Standards of conduct for investment professionals – overlapping protections for broker-dealer retirement customers

The legal standards for broker-dealer firms (BDs) and their representatives, particularly in the retirement market, continue to be in flux. BDs were among those most affected by the promulgation in 2016 of the Department of...more

2017 in Review: ERISA guidance and enforcement

In 2017, the principal focus in the administration of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (ERISA), by the Department of Labor (DOL) appropriately remained one of the extraordinary developments...more

The Final Rule: DOL Issues Fourth Set of FAQs

On August 3, 2017, the Department of Labor (DOL) released a fourth set of FAQs related to its new “investment advice” fiduciary definition and related exemptions (Final Rule), which became applicable on June 9. Like the May ...more

The Final Rule: DOL Releases Additional FAQs Related to New Fiduciary Rule

The Department of Labor (DOL) has released two additional sets of FAQs providing guidance related to its final rule expanding the definition of fiduciary “investment advice” (the Final Rule) for purposes of the Employee...more

The Final Rule: Technical Corrections to Best Interest Contract and Principal Transaction Exemptions

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

DOL Has Many Questions About its Fiduciary Reproposal

As has been widely reported, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) on April 14 issued its proposal to expand the definition of investment advice fiduciary under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). DOL included...more

Supreme Court Instructs Ninth Circuit to Consider Common Law of Trusts in Applying ERISA's Statute of Limitations

The Supreme Court has once again emphasized the importance of ERISA’s origins in the common law of trusts, this time in interpreting its statute of limitations. On May 18, the Court reversed the Ninth Circuit’s decision in...more

DOL Reproposes Expanded ERISA Fiduciary Definition and Revised Complex of Exemptions

On April 14, 2015, after 43 months in development, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) released its reproposal to expand the “investment advice fiduciary” definition under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974,...more

2012 in Review: ERISA Individual Prohibited Transaction Exemptions

In 2012, the Department of Labor (DOL) continued a fairly active program of issuing individual exemptions from the prohibited transaction rules of ERISA. These rules generally prohibit, among other things: - Sale and...more

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