Fiduciary Rules and Practices

A new white paper says that fund changes already underway in response to the Department of Labor’s (DOL) fiduciary regulation may well have broad beneficial effects.According to “Early Evidence on the Department of Labor Conflict of Interest Rule” by Morningstat’s Director of Policy Research Aron... READ MORE

Among other changes, the American Retirement Association has requested that the Labor Department change the Best Interest Contract (BIC) Exemption to eliminate reliance on the plaintiffs’ bar as an enforcement mechanism. Perhaps the most controversial aspect of the current fiduciary regulation is... READ MORE

President Trump has signed legislation that blocks the Obama-era Department of Labor’s (DOL) safe harbor exempting states’ and municipalities’ auto-IRA programs from ERISA.In March, the U.S. Senate passed, by a vote of 50-49, the Congressional Review Act resolution. Under the CRA, Congress has a... READ MORE

The DOL delayed the fiduciary rule 60 days from April 10, 2017 to June 9, 2017. In MarketBeat, Kimberly Flett writes that although this postponement is in effect, plan sponsors, retirement plan investors and advisers should be aware of the important components of this rule and prepare for the... READ MORE

Plaintiffs seeking to obtain an emergency injunction blocking the Department of Labor’s (DOL) fiduciary regulation were rebuffed again by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.The denial kept the DOL’s fiduciary litigation streak unblemished.Not that the judges minced words explaining... READ MORE

We have “an historic opportunity” — there is a “dynamic policy-making situation just ahead,” believes Earl Pomeroy, senior counsel at Alston & Bird and a former member of the House of Representatives.Pomeroy addressed an April 3 general session of the Enrolled Actuaries meeting in Washington, D... READ MORE

Having put its proposed extension of the applicability date out for public comment, the Department of Labor (DOL) has submitted its final rule to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review. According to an update on the OMB’s website, the final rule was received on March 28. The 60-day... READ MORE

Plan fiduciaries largely lost their attempt to dismiss charges filed by plan participants in an excessive fee suit brought by the St. Louis-based law firm of Schlichter, Bogard & Denton.The lawsuit, filed in late 2015 in the Southern District of Indiana, alleged that fiduciaries of the $5.1... READ MORE

A recent Morningstar report suggests that the costs of the fiduciary rule — including class action lawsuits — could be underestimated.The report by Morningstar analyst Michael Wong notes that the assessments of executives, policymakers and stock analysts of the Department of Labor’s (DOL) fiduciary... READ MORE