Fiduciary Rules and Practices
Yes, the holidays are upon us — but there’s no time like the present to get a head start on 2018!The NTSA Summit is where leaders and innovators come together to make a difference for their clients, the industry, and themselves. It is the only national gathering of professionals in the 403(b) and...
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If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again seems to be the motto used in a new class action lawsuit filed against New York University alleging breach of fiduciary duties for excessive plan fees in the school’s retirement plans.This new, 129-page filing (Sacerdote v. NYU Langone Hosps., S.D.N.Y...
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Legislation that would repeal the DOL’s fiduciary rule would have a negligible effect on federal revenues, say multiple cost estimates.The Affordable Retirement Advice Act for Savers (H.R. 2823), introduced by Rep. David Roe (R-TN) on June 8, 2017, would repeal the fiduciary rule. The bill also...
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Action by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) due to breaches of fiduciary duty, inadequate disclosures and compliance deficiencies has prompted a registered investment adviser to stop certain practices and to issue rebates and credits to some of its clients, which include small to medium...
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So what plans ARE covered by the fiduciary rule? MarketBeat features a blog post by Fred Reish (with help from some of his colleagues at Drinker Biddle) addresses that question, as well as which plans the rule does not cover.
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The U.S. House on Sept. 14 passed a bill that contains a sentence that seeks to do away with the fiduciary regulation — with language that some might find eerily prophetic.H.R. 3354, which would fund government operations for fiscal year 2018, makes a brief, but powerful, statement about the...
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The American Retirement Association, parent organization of the NTSA, has weighed in on extending the special transition period under the Best Interest Contract Exemption (and related exemptions).Consistent with its earlier comments, the comment letter directed to the Labor Department supports a...
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Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) says that, “Contrary to the alarmist claims of their lobbyists and the conclusions of opaque industry-funded studies,” financial firms are “fully ready” to comply with the fiduciary rule — and you don’t need to take her word for it.Warren, an early and enthusiastic...
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Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta will meet Sept. 5 with representatives of companies that oppose the Obama administration’s fiduciary rule, according to a published report.Politico Pro, citing two sources familiar with the matter, says the meeting at the Labor Department will include...
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The Labor Department says it won’t enforce a provision of the fiduciary rule’s arbitration ban.The stance, published Aug. 30 in Field Assistance Bulletin 2017-03, was first revealed in a brief filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit in Chamber of Commerce v. Acosta, where the Labor...
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The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has made a quick response to the Labor Department’s request for a delay in the full BIC applicability date.In an update posted on the OMB site on August 28, the concluded action is noted as “Consistent With Change.” The OMB review, which frequently takes as...
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In a written response to a judge in litigation involving the fiduciary rule’s anti-arbitration provision, the Labor Department says the provision will “likely be mooted in the near future.”The letter (Thrivent Fin. for Lutherans v. Acosta, D. Minn., No. 0:16-cv-03289-SRN-DTS, letter to judge filed...
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A new excessive fee suit claims that plan fiduciaries “abdicated” their responsibilities, allowing the plans’ trustee to “…to load the Plans with high-cost mutual funds.”The most recent excessive fee suit involves both the 401(k) and 403(b) plans of Allina Health System, which have nearly $2.3...
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The American Retirement Association has filed a comment letter raising concerns about the application of a new fiduciary regulation in the state of Nevada.The comment letter includes a legal analysis conducted by the law firm of Trucker Huss that concludes that courts would find that the Nevada...
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A group that generally advocates for large, multistate employers has issues with a new fiduciary law in Nevada that it says would have a negative impact on small employers.In a comment letter to Diana Foley, Securities Administrator, Securities Division, at the Nevada Office of the Secretary of the...
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The Department of Labor’s (DOL) Aug. 9 proposal that the transition period and full Best Interest Contract (BIC) applicability date of the fiduciary rule be delayed 18 months to July 1, 2019 no doubt was hailed by some as good news. But such a reaction is not universal.The Economic Policy Institute...
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Compliance with the Department of Labor’s fiduciary rule has reduced access to brokerage advice services and choice, cost billions, and disrupted retirement savers, according to a new study. The study, commissioned by long-time opponent and fiduciary rule litigant SIFMA and conducted by Deloitte...
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Earlier this year, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the participants in a university’s plan do not have to exhaust administrative remedies before they pursue claims of ERISA violations. A recent blog entry discusses what this ruling means for plan fiduciaries.In “Exhaustion of Plan...
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The Labor Department has issued a new set of FAQs on the fiduciary regulation that embraces the recommendations made by the ARA/NAPA Government Affairs Committee (GAC) in a recent comment letter. To recap, the 408(b)(2) regulation requires certain service providers to ERISA-governed retirement...
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The Labor Department has filed for a stay of proceedings in litigation challenging the fiduciary regulation.“Here, a stay of proceedings would be the most efficient use of judicial resources,” the Labor Department noted, going on to state that the plaintiff in the case (Thrivent Financial for...
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