The DOL has not appealed the decision in the Florida Federal District Court that vacated its fiduciary “re-interpretation.” That re-interpretation, in effect, said that ongoing investment advice to a rollover IRA could be...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
On June 29, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) proposed a new exemption from the prohibited transaction provisions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (“ERISA”) in connection with the...more
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (“DOL”) issued a third installment of new Q&As regarding the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“the Act”) on March 28, 2020. Foley’s Coronavirus Task Force...more
In Dorman v. Charles Schwab Corp., the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held on August 20, 2019 that claims under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”) can generally be subject to mandatory...more
It’s official. The Department of Labor’s controversial, Obama-era Fiduciary Rule is dead and gone. On June 21, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued its mandate certifying its March 15 split decision...more
In June, we circulated our fifth article on the continuing saga regarding the standard of conduct for sales of securities and annuities — and the efforts of federal and state regulators to impose new conditions on the...more
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals’ rejection of the DOL’s Fiduciary rule reintroduces the 1975 five-factor fiduciary test and creates uncertainty for plan sponsors, plan fiduciaries and investment advisors. After years of...more
After nearly a decade in the making, the Department of Labor’s fiduciary rule appears to be officially dead. On June 21st, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued its mandate that finalized its earlier...more
For several years now we’ve been keeping you updated on the long and winding road of the Department of Labor’s (“DOL”) Fiduciary Rule....more
On June 21, 2018, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued its order, or mandate, putting into effect its earlier decision to vacate the Department of Labor’s (DOL) conflict of interest regulation (the fiduciary...more
The Department of Labor’s (“DOL”) conflict of interest rule, informally coined the “fiduciary rule,” sparked much debate when the regulations were proposed in 2015, and finalized in 2016, to expand the definition of fiduciary...more
The issue over the Fiduciary Rule, and whether it will be implemented, revised, vacated, forgotten, etc. has been ongoing. In March 2018, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of several business groups who...more
During the past two years, we have written about potential litigation arising under the Department of Labor’s, first proposed, then adopted fiduciary rule. In the first of those articles, when the Rule was initially proposed,...more
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission published three proposed rules with request for public comment that would seek to enhance and clarify the standards of care applicable to broker-dealers and investment advisers when...more
On May 7, 2018, the Department of Labor (the “DOL”) issued a temporary non-enforcement policy regarding its investment advice fiduciary regulation (the “Fiduciary Rule”) in Field Assistance Bulletin 2018-02. This guidance was...more
A number of lawsuits have been brought challenging aspects of the United States Department of Labor’s "fiduciary rule," which expanded the definition of "fiduciary" of an employee benefit plan or individual retirement account...more
What’s a financial advisor to do? On March 15, 2018, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in Chamber of Commerce of the U.S. v. U.S. Dep’t. of Labor, No. 17-10238, 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 6472 (5th Cir. Mar. 15, 2018) vacated –...more
The future of the Department of Labor’s Fiduciary rule is in limbo following the Fifth Circuit’s decision striking it down “in toto.” The future of the Fiduciary rule is uncertain, particularly in light of the Fifth...more
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
Although the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) staff is currently drafting proposed rules relating to the standard of conduct for broker-dealers and investment advisers, several states have decided not to wait for...more
On May 22, 2017, Department of Labor (“DOL”) Secretary Alexander Acosta announced in an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal that the DOL would not issue another delay of the “fiduciary rule,” and that it was set to generally...more
On March 15, 2018, in a 2–1 decision, the Fifth Circuit vacated all parts of the Department of Labor's so-called "Fiduciary Rule" in Chamber of Commerce, et. al. v. Acosta, No. 17-10238 (5th Cir. March 15, 2018). The Labor...more
On March 15, 2018, in Chamber of Commerce of the U.S.A., et al. v. U.S. Department of Labor, the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit invalidated the Department of Labor’s (“DOL”) new investment advice fiduciary regulation...more
Just as we are tuning in for March Madness, it seems that the Department of Labor (Department) has been dealt the latest upset in the fight to implement its final rule, which regulates certain activities of financial service...more