Hot Topics in International Trade with Braumiller Law Group: Customs Broker Modernization Regulations 19 CFR 111
Investment Management Roundtable Discussion – Data Privacy and Security
SEC Activity with Fixed Income and Credit Funds
Bill on Bankruptcy: Easterbrook Turns the Tide on Student Loans
Confirmations: Plugging Into Electronic Confirmations
Bill on Bankruptcy: Rakoff Reverses Himself in Madoff Case
Our “health plan hygiene” series has focused on steps that fiduciaries of employer-sponsored group health plans can take to ensure they meet their fiduciary responsibilities. This issue has been brought to the forefront...more
Our Investment Funds Group examines why the Securities and Exchange Commission penalized a registered investment adviser for inadequate disclosure of fees it received....more
Today, hosts Lynda A. Bennett and Eric Jesse discuss a recent decision that addresses broker malpractice – a common claim for policyholders to pursue after learning insurance protection is unavailable or insufficient to cover...more
During the next several weeks, we will publish a series of articles that dive deeply into “health plan hygiene” relating to health and welfare benefit plan fiduciary issues and how employers can protect themselves in this...more
California has recently proposed legislation that, if enacted, would impose a new licensing requirement for any person providing “commercial brokerage” services to a borrower in connection with a commercial loan of $5,000 or...more
Last month, California Senator Steve Glazer introduced a bill that could fundamentally change commercial finance brokering in the state. Senate bill 869 would expand the licensing requirement for brokers of commercial loans...more
In California, several classes of persons are entitled to some form of immunity protecting them from liability for activities performed in connection with judicial proceedings. For example, “judicial immunity” bars civil...more
In March, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)’s Division of Examinations announced its 2021 examination priorities. The SEC has committed to focusing its investigations on, among other issues, “attendant risks...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) issued a risk alert earlier this month from its national examination program warning investment advisers of the most common...more
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini examined a case in which the plaintiff filed a FINRA arbitration against his broker alleging suitability, breach of fiduciary duty, fraud, failure to supervise, and other claims. The...more
In Holmes v. Newman, the plaintiff made an investment in a start-up internet company that provided betting tips to gamblers for a fee. No. 01-16-00311-CV, 2017 Tex. App. LEXIS 6177 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] July 6, 2017,...more
The Financial Stability Board—that Swiss-based grand collection of central bankers and regulators from the world’s biggest economies—has upped the systemic importance ranking for three of America’s biggest banks, including...more
Merrill Lynch has already staked out the position in response to the DOL’s retirement account fiduciary duty rule that it would no longer offer commission-based IRAs to retirement savers. Yesterday, it effectively doubled...more
Experts saying how many brokers are going to leave the retirement plan business reminds me of the radio report that Henry Hill heard in the shower about the Lufthansa heist, in Goodfellas. Like the loot stolen in the heist,...more
Employers and their financial advisors should consider enacting a multi-step plan amid anticipation that the proposed ERISA Fiduciary Rules turn effective. Last month, several business groups filed a complaint in the...more
This post continues our examination of the Department of Labor’s suite of final fiduciary and conflict of interest regulations. Our previous posts discussed the newly expanded definition of “investment advice fiduciary”; the...more
The Future Is Now For 401(k) Plan Sponsors. The future is here. When I was the head ERISA attorney at a New York based third party administrator (TPA), I left because I saw the future of the retirement plan...more
The U.S. Department of Labor (the “DOL”) on April 6, 2016 released the final version of its “investment advice” regulation and accompanying prohibited transaction exemptions, a highly-anticipated milestone that is the...more
The Struggles Of Being A Retirement Plan Provider And How To Manage It. What you have to deal with. Any good retirement plan financial advisor will tell you that relationships in the retirement plan business mean...more
One of the interesting points of the new fiduciary rule is the best interest exemption that is intended to stop conflicts of interests especially for brokers who need to meet a new fiduciary standard. As long as a broker...more
The New Fiduciary Rule: What It Means To Plan Sponsors - Bottom line: what does it mean? If you're a retirement plan sponsor and, unless you've been living under a rock, you've probably heard about the Department...more
The U.S. Department of Labor released its long anticipated "fiduciary rule" on April 6, 2016. The rule requires brokers and financial advisers to put their clients' interests ahead of their own when recommending retirement...more
You read articles about the Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) new fiduciary rule and experts will tell you that it’s the greatest thing since sliced bread, the worst thing since Caddyshack II, or somewhere in between. I learned a...more
Last week, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued a final rule revamping the standards for determining when a party is a fiduciary with respect to an ERISA retirement plan or an individual retirement account (IRA) by...more
On April 6, 2016, the U.S. Department of Labor released its long-awaited and controversial fiduciary rule expanding the definition of who is a fiduciary when providing investment advice on retirement accounts. The rule aims...more