Overview -

At the end of last week, on December 11, 2020, the Department of Labor (the “DOL”) released a Final Rule, Fiduciary Duties Regarding Proxy Voting and Shareholder Rights (the “Final Rule”), which addresses the application of the prudence and exclusive purpose duties under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”) to the exercise of shareholder rights, including proxy voting, the use of written proxy voting policies and guidelines and the selection and monitoring of proxy advisory firms. The Final Rule comes after the DOL’s September 4, 2020 proposal (the “Proposed Rule”), which we previously discussed in an OnPoint. The Final Rule will become effective on January 15, 2021.