On April 3, 2024, the Department of Labor (the “DOL”) issued its final amendment (“Amendment”) to Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 84-14, commonly referred to as the “QPAM Exemption”....more
On July 25, 2024, the U.S. Federal Court for the Eastern District of Texas issued a stay (the “Stay”) on the effective date of the Department of Labor’s (“DOL”) 2024 investment advice fiduciary rule (the “2024 Fiduciary...more
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 District Court for the Middle District of Florida issued a decision (the “ASA Decision”) on February 13 that adds yet another twist to the 13-year long story of the U.S. Department of Labor’s (“DOL”) attempts to recraft...more
The U.S. Department of Labor (the “DOL”) on December 1, 2022, released a new final regulation (the “Final Regulation”) generally relating to certain aspects of the prudence and loyalty duties under the fiduciary rules of the...more
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) released its final Regulation (the “Regulation”) relating to the prudence and loyalty duties under the fiduciary rules of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”),...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on October 26, 2022, adopted final rules1 directing national securities exchanges and associations,2 to establish listing standards that require public companies to develop and...more
11/23/2022
/ Clawbacks ,
Compensation ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Final Rules ,
Incentive Compensation ,
Indemnification ,
Insurance Industry ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on August 25, 2022 finalized the “Pay-versus-Performance” disclosure requirements (the “Final Rules”)1 that originally were proposed on April 29, 2015 (the “Proposed...more
9/15/2022
/ CD&A ,
Compensation ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Executive Compensation ,
Final Rules ,
GAAP ,
Performance Standards ,
Principle Officers ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Total Shareholder Return (TSR)
The Department of Labor (the “DOL”) on July 27, 2022, on its own initiative, proposed changes to Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption (“PTCE”) 84-14, commonly referred to as the “QPAM Exemption” (the “Proposal”). In general...more
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
On January 24, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled in Hughes v. Northwestern University that establishing and offering a broad range of investment options for a participant-directed retirement plan does not ensure...more
1/26/2022
/ 401k ,
403(b) Plans ,
Duty of Prudence ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Hughes v. Northwestern University ,
Investment Management ,
Plan Participants ,
Retirement Plan ,
Tibble v Edison Int
Last week, the U.S. Department of Labor (the "DOL") on December 21, 2021 issued a supplement (the “2021 Supplement”) to a June 2020 Information Letter (the "2020 Information Letter") that had addressed the possible use of...more
12/28/2021
/ 401k ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Products ,
Information Letters ,
Investment ,
Investment Management ,
Private Equity ,
Retirement Plan
The U.S. Department of Labor (the “DOL”) on October 14, 2021, released a new Proposed Regulation (the “Proposed Regulation”) generally relating to the prudence and loyalty duties under the fiduciary rules of the Employee...more
The U.S. Department of Labor (the “DOL”) yesterday, on October 25, 2021, issued Field Advice Bulletin 2021-2 (the “2021 FAB”), along with an explanatory notice, (the “2021 Notice”) in connection with compliance with...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
The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (the “Act”) was signed by the President on December 27, 2020, to provide additional COVID-related relief. The Act has a number of provisions that are relevant to retirement plans...more
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
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...more
This OnPoint is the first in a series that will examine important trends and developments in class action litigation under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). Here, we look at the current litigation...more
11/20/2020
/ Article III ,
Breach of Duty ,
Class Action ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
ESOP ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
FIfth Third Bancorp v Dudenhoeffer ,
Intel Corp. Investment Policy Committee v. Sulyma ,
Investment Management ,
Retirement Plan ,
Standing ,
Stock Drop Litigation ,
Thole v U.S. Bank
The U.S. Department of Labor (the “DOL”) on October 30, 2020 released a final regulation (the “Final Regulation”) relating to the consideration of non-pecuniary factors by fiduciaries of employee benefit plans (“Plans”) that...more
The U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) on August 18, 2020, issued an interim final regulation (the “Regulation”) requiring the inclusion of lifetime income illustrations in the benefit statements provided to participants in...more
9/20/2020
/ 401k ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Comment Period ,
Defined Contribution Plans ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary ,
Interim Rule ,
Lifetime Income Disclosures ,
Limited Liability ,
Request For Information ,
Retirement Plan ,
SECURE Act
The U.S. Department of Labor (the “DOL”) on August 31, 2020 proposed a regulation (the “Proposed Proxy Regulation”) that would apply to how fiduciaries under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”)...more
9/19/2020
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Duty of Loyalty ,
Duty of Prudence ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Popular ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Proxy Voting ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholder Rights ,
Trump Administration
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