On April 25, 2024, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) published in the Federal Register its final regulation on its "fiduciary rule" (the "Final Regulation") clarifying when fiduciary status under the Employee Retirement Income...more
On February 13, 2023, a federal district court in the Middle District of Florida invalidated the Department of Labor’s (“DOL”) policy as to when advice provided by a financial institution or financial professional (“adviser”)...more
On October 25, 2021, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) released Field Assistance Bulletin 2021-02 (FAB 2021-02), which extends its non-enforcement policies regarding certain rules applicable to fiduciaries who provide...more
Overview: In general, the prohibited transaction rules (in ERISA and the Tax Code) (1) prohibit fiduciaries that provide investment advice to plans subject to Title I of ERISA (including 401(k) plans, pension plans and...more
4/28/2021
/ Conflicts of Interest ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Institutions ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investors ,
Retirement Plan
On June 29, 2020, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) announced its new approach to the standards for financial institutions and investment professionals who provide investment advice on a nondiscretionary basis to 401(k) plans,...more
In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court has held that participants of defined benefit pension plans generally cannot sue fiduciaries over the management over the plan’s investments. Although ERISA provides statutory causes of...more
6/3/2020
/ Article III ,
Breach of Duty ,
Defined Benefit Plans ,
Duty of Loyalty ,
Duty of Prudence ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Injury-in-Fact ,
Investment Adviser ,
Mismanagement ,
Pensions ,
Plan Participants ,
Retirement Plan ,
SCOTUS ,
Standing ,
Thole v U.S. Bank
The Fifth Circuit has issued a long-awaited mandate of its order vacating the Department of Labor’s (DOL) Fiduciary Rule in toto on June 21, 2018. In March, a panel majority of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals issued an...more
The Fifth Circuit’s March decision vacating the Fiduciary Rule appears likely to stand. On May 22, 2018, the Fifth Circuit denied motions by the States of California, New York and Oregon to reconsider a denial of their prior...more
Transition Period Extension -
In an August 9th court filing, the DOL announced it will extend the transition period for three prohibited transaction exemptions relating to the fiduciary investment advice rule (the...more
8/10/2017
/ 401k ,
Best Interest Contract Exemptions ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Investment Adviser ,
Popular ,
Retirement Plan
On May 22, Department of Labor (DOL) Secretary Alexander Acosta announced that, despite President Trump’s memorandum ordering further analysis of the fiduciary investment advice rule (Fiduciary Rule), there was no legal...more
The Department of Labor (DOL) has now made clear that it intends for its controversial “Fiduciary Rule” to become effective on June 9, 2017. The Fiduciary Rule expands the definition of “fiduciary investment advice” under...more
The Presidential Memorandum directing the Department of Labor (the “Department”) to review the Fiduciary Rule (the “Rule”) produced its first significant regulatory impact for the investment advisor community yesterday as the...more
On March 10th, in connection with the DOL’s recent proposal to delay the applicability of the fiduciary rule, the DOL issued temporary guidance (Field Assistance Bulletin No. 2017-01) regarding how it will enforce the rule in...more