Tuesday, December 22, 2015

Lawmakers Fail to Stop the DOL’s New Fiduciary Standard from Moving Forward

Author: David Schwartz J.D. CPA

Foes of the DOL’s proposed fiduciary rule suffered a setback last week when the House of Representatives passed an omnibus spending bill omitting any measures that would have stalled, hindered, or killed the proposal.  On the table during budget negotiations were riders and amendments to the bill that would have defunded the proposal, required a new comment period, or proposed an alternative standard altogether.  The new standard’s proponents, including the DOL, SEC, and the Obama administration say that the rule proposal which would require brokers to put their clients' interests ahead of their own in 401(k) and individual retirement accounts is vital to protecting workers saving for retirement from high-fee products that erode their savings.

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Friday, May 22, 2015

Supreme Court Rules ERISA Fiduciaries have Continuing Duty to Monitor

Author: David Schwartz J.D. CPA

In a unanimous opinion issued on May 18, 2015, the Supreme Court confirmed a continuing duty of ERISA trustees to monitor investments. Although the case involved a complicated procedural history before arriving at the Supreme Court, the lawsuit presented a fairly simple question: is it sufficient for the ERISA duty of prudence that the fiduciary make prudent decisions to invest in the first instance, or must the fiduciary also make prudent ongoing decisions about whether it should change the composition of the plan’s portfolio or otherwise sell assets?  

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Tuesday, April 14, 2015

A Revised Fiduciary Standard Proposal from the DOL

Author: David Schwartz J.D. CPA
On April 14, 2014, the Department of Labor issued its long awaited reproposal of fiduciary standards for advisors of ERISA retirement plans.   These new rules propose to expand the scope of the the definition of fiduciary under ERISA in order to capture more of the current services of 401(k) and IRA providers.  

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Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Congressional Republicans Want Answers on DOL and SEC Fiduciary Standards

Tempers Flare as Publication of Sweeping New ERISA Fiduciary Proposal Draws Near

Author: David Schwartz J.D. CPA
In a March 4, 2015 letter, two House Republicans requested answers from Department of Labor (DOL) Secretary Thomas E. Perez about the process for devising new fiduciary rules for investment professionals providing services to retirement plans.  Representative John Kline (R-MN), Chairman of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, and Rep. Phil Roe (R-TN), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions, want to know if and how the DOL and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) are working together to minimize potential conflicts, higher costs, and detrimental effects on information available to those saving for retirement.  
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Tuesday, March 3, 2015

Revised Fiduciary Standards Slowed but Not Stopped

Author: David Schwartz J.D. CPA
Pursuant to a mandate in the Dodd-Frank act, both the Department of Labor and the Securities and Exchange Commission have been working to develop uniform fiduciary standards for investment advisers and broker-dealers.  The efforts of the DOL and SEC have unfolded over the past five years with both floating proposals that have been met with stiff opposition from industry and in Congress.  Each effort has hit its own respective roadblocks over the past year.  However, despite eleventh-hour efforts by members of the investment industry and some on Capitol Hill, both the DOL and SEC appear to be moving ahead with their respective uniform fiduciary standards.
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