On April 23, 2024, the US Department of Labor (DOL) released its Final Rule 4.0 regarding ERISA fiduciary investment advice, including amended exemptions for conflicted investment advice. Our initial analysis of the Final...more
Under ERISA and the Code, a fiduciary to a plan or IRA includes a person who renders investment advice for a fee. ERISA imposes safeguards on a fiduciary by applying standards of care and duties of loyalty and penalizing a...more
The U. S. Department of Labor’s Conflict of Interest regulatory package (the “COI Rules”) reaches far more than traditional trustees named in retirement plan documents. Many financial advisors, tax advisors, investment...more
Final rule reflects some concessions, but its broad scope and compliance costs will cause financial services advisers to re-evaluate their business models. On April 6, 2016, the US Department of Labor (the DOL) released...more
While only the plan service providers, like brokers, are required to comply with the requirements of the revised and new prohibited transaction class exemptions contained in the package with the definition of...more
Editor's Overview - This month we feature three key developments. First, we review the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Gobeille v. Liberty Mut. Ins. Co., 136 S. Ct. 936, 947 (2016) wherein the Supreme Court held that a...more
After much controversy and criticism, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued a final conflict of interest rule on April 6th (the “Final Rule”) which expands the definition of a fiduciary for an “employee benefit plan,” as...more
Earlier this month, the Department of Labor finally released the long-awaited “Definition of Fiduciary; Conflict of Interest Rule.” This blog post is intended to do two things...more
On April 8, 2016, the Department of Labor (DOL) released the much anticipated final regulation to broaden the scope of fiduciary status under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and the Internal...more
Wisconsin is home to over 10,000 registered broker-dealers, all of whom currently operate without owing federally imposed fiduciary duties. Unlike some of their peers in other states, Wisconsin broker-dealers generally do not...more
On April 6, 2015, the U.S. Department of Labor (Department) issued its highly anticipated final rule addressing when a person is considered to be a fiduciary under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA)...more
The Department of Labor (DOL) has announced its highly anticipated final fiduciary rule, which is intended to help ensure that Americans saving for retirement get investment advice that is in their best interest. ...more
Included in the definition of a fiduciary in Section 3(21) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (“ERISA”) is someone who provides investment advice for a fee. Regulations issued in 1975 by the U.S. Department of...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, after more than five years of anticipation, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued the final fiduciary rule and related guidance. The final fiduciary rule amends and expands the definition of a fiduciary that...more
On April 6, 2016, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) released its long-awaited final regulations defining who is a fiduciary investment adviser (the Final Rule), along with related prohibited transaction class exemptions and...more
On April 6, 2016, the Department of Labor (DOL) released the Conflict of Interest Final Rule. Among other things, this rule expands the definition of fiduciary, and requires that persons who give investment advice to...more