The Department of Labor’s “Fiduciary Rule,” PTE 2020-02 (Part 14): The Two Compensation Requirements: Reasonable Compensation and Mitigation-
This series focused on the DOL’s new fiduciary “rule”. This post is the 14th in...more
5/11/2021
/ Best Interest Standard ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Institutions ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Investment Adviser ,
Prohibited Transactions ,
Regulation Best Interest ,
Retirement Plan ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
The Department of Labor’s “Fiduciary Rule,” PTE 2020-02 (Part 13): The Two Compensation Requirements: Reasonable Compensation and Mitigation-
On February 16, 2021, the DOL’s prohibited transaction exemption (PTE) 2020-02...more
5/4/2021
/ Best Interest Standard ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Institutions ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Investment Adviser ,
Prohibited Transactions ,
PTEs ,
Regulation Best Interest ,
Retirement Plan ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
The Department of Labor’s “Fiduciary Rule,” PTE 2020-02 (Part 12): The Requirement that Investment Advisers and Broker-Dealers to Receive No More Than Reasonable Compensation -
On February 16, 2021, the DOL’s prohibited...more
4/28/2021
/ Best Interest Standard ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Institutions ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Management ,
Prohibited Transactions ,
PTEs ,
Retirement Plan ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
The Department of Labor’s “Fiduciary Rule”, PTE 2020-02 (Part 11): The Requirement that Investment Advisers and Broker-Dealers Mitigate Conflicts -
On February 16, 2021, the DOL’s prohibited transaction exemption (PTE)...more
On February 16, 2021, the DOL’s prohibited transaction exemption (PTE) 2020-02 became effective. The PTE is titled “Improving Investment Advice for Workers & Retirees.” It allows investment advisers, broker-dealers, banks,...more
4/14/2021
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Burden of Proof ,
Business Conduct Standards ,
Compliance ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Insurance Industry ,
Investment Adviser ,
IRS ,
Retirement Plan ,
Standard of Care
The Department of Labor’s Prohibited Transaction Exemption and Its Impact on Recommendations to Plans, Participants and IRAs (Part 9) -
On February 16, 2021, the DOL’s prohibited transaction exemption (PTE) 2020-02 became...more
4/6/2021
/ Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Best Interest Standard ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Institutions ,
Five-Part Test ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investors ,
IRS ,
PTEs ,
Retirement Plan ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
The Department of Labor’s Prohibited Transaction Exemption and Its Impact on Recommendations to Plans, Participants and IRAs (Part 8) -
On February 16, 2021, the DOL’s prohibited transaction exemption (PTE) 2020-02 became...more
3/30/2021
/ Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Best Interest Standard ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Institutions ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investors ,
Plan Participants ,
Principal Transaction Exemption ,
Retirement Plan ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
The Department of Labor’s Prohibited Transaction Exemption and Its Impact on Recommendations to Plans, Participants and IRAs (Part 7) -
On February 16, 2021, the DOL’s prohibited transaction exemption (PTE) 2020-02 became...more
3/23/2021
/ Best Interest Standard ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Investment Adviser ,
Prohibited Transactions ,
PTEs ,
Regulation Best Interest ,
Retirement Plan ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
The Department of Labor (DOL) confirmed on February 12 that the Trump-era Prohibited Transaction Exemption 2020-02 (PTE) would go into effect as scheduled on February 16, 2021. The PTE will likely affect the business of...more
3/23/2021
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Compliance ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Exemptions ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Investment Adviser ,
IRA Rollovers ,
New Guidance ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Prohibited Transactions ,
PTEs ,
Regulation Best Interest ,
Retirement Plan ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
The Department of Labor’s Prohibited Transaction Exemption and Its Impact on Recommendations to Plans, Participants and IRAs (Part 6) -
On February 16, 2021, the DOL’s prohibited transaction exemption (PTE) 2020-02 became...more
3/17/2021
/ 401k ,
Best Interest Standard ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Investment Adviser ,
Prohibited Transactions ,
Regulation Best Interest ,
Retirement Plan ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Late last year, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard E. Neal (D-MA) and Ranking Member Kevin Brady (R-TX) introduced the Securing a Strong Retirement Act of 2020 (SECURE 2.0), a bipartisan legislative proposal that...more
On December 18, 2020, the Department of Labor published its expansion of the fiduciary interpretation and exemption for conflicted advice in the Federal Register. (Prohibited Transaction Exemption 2020-02, Improving...more
1/13/2021
/ Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
IRS ,
Retirement Plan ,
Rollover Equity ,
Title I
The Department of Labor’s Proposed Prohibited Transaction Exemption and its Impact on Recommendations to Plans, Participants and IRAs (Part 2) -
On July 7, 2020, the DOL issued a proposed prohibited transaction exemption...more
The Department of Labor’s Proposed Prohibited Transaction Exemption and its Impact on Recommendations to Plans, Participants and IRAs (Part 1)
On July 7, 2020 the DOL issued a proposed prohibited transaction exemption...more
The SEC’s Regulation Best Interest (Reg BI) applies to recommendations by a broker-dealer to “retail customers.” As the term suggests, a retail customer is a “natural person” (or the legal representative of a natural person)...more
The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act of 2019 created a new type of plan that may begin operating in 2021 called a pooled employer plan (PEP). A PEP is a plan in which multiple unrelated...more
The Coronavirus pandemic is disrupting everyone’s personal and financial lives. While our health, and that of our families and friends, is paramount, we realize that the sudden and large investment losses in the 401(k) plans...more
The introduction to my last two posts, SECURE Act Part 1 and SECURE Act Part 2, explained:
There are two parts of the SECURE Act that I believe will have the greatest impact on my clients: plan sponsors and plan service...more
1/24/2020
/ 401k ,
Financial Guarantee Requirements ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Insurance Industry ,
Investment Funds ,
Investment Products ,
Plan Administrators ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Retirement Plan ,
Safe Harbors ,
SECURE Act
The introduction to my last post, SECURE Act Part 1, explained:
There are two parts of the SECURE Act that I believe will have the greatest impact on my clients: plan sponsors and plan service providers. The first includes...more
1/15/2020
/ 401k ,
Annuities ,
Guaranteed Payments ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Investment Management ,
Investors ,
Retirement ,
Retirement Plan ,
Retirement Plan Providers ,
Safe Harbors ,
SECURE Act
There are two parts of the SECURE Act that I believe will have the greatest impact on plan sponsors and service providers.
• The first part includes the provisions on retirement income, including the safe harbor for...more
1/8/2020
/ 401k ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Employee Benefits ,
Multiple Employer Plan (MEP) ,
New Legislation ,
Pooled Registration Pension Plans ,
Required Minimum Distributions ,
Retirement Plan ,
Retirement Plan Providers ,
Safe Harbors ,
SECURE Act
The SEC has issued its final Regulation Best Interest (Reg BI), Form CRS Regulation, RIA Interpretation and Solely Incidental Interpretation. I am discussing the SEC’s guidance in a series of articles entitled “Best Interest...more
11/14/2019
/ Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Best Interest Standard ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Investment Adviser ,
IRA Rollovers ,
Regulation Best Interest ,
Retirement Plan ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
It appears that the SEC has initiated a “sweep” examination to inquire into the sales practices applicable to retirement plans for teachers and state and local government employees. We understand that multiple SEC regional...more
11/7/2019
/ 403(b) Plans ,
457(b) Plans ,
Annuities ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Investment Adviser ,
Military Service Members ,
NYDFS ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Retirement Plan ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Share Class Selection Disclosure Initiative (SCSD) ,
Teachers
The SEC has issued its final Regulation Best Interest (Reg BI), Form CRS Rule, RIA Interpretation and Solely Incidental Interpretation. I am discussing the SEC’s guidance in a series of articles entitled “Best Interest...more
10/30/2019
/ 401k ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Investment Adviser ,
IRA Rollovers ,
Regulation Best Interest ,
Retirement Plan ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Standard of Care
Lessons Learned from Litigation (#4)—The Johns Hopkins Case -
This is the twelfth in a series of articles about Best Practices for Plan Sponsors. To be clear, “best practices” are not the same as legal requirements....more
This is the eleventh in a series of articles about Best Practices for Plan Sponsors. To be clear, “best practices” are not the same as legal requirements. Instead, they are about better ways to manage retirement plans. In...more
9/11/2019
/ Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Best Practices ,
Business Expenses ,
Duty of Loyalty ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Excessive Fees ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Investment Management ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Retirement Plan ,
Revenue Sharing ,
Risk Management ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Share Classes