Key Takeaways - FINRA’s 2025 Annual Regulatory Oversight Report 2025-annual-regulatory-oversight-report.pdf included a focus on issues related to retirees and senior investors. - The Report provides guidance to...more
Among other things, FINRA is focusing on services and recommendations by broker-dealers and their registered representatives to retirees, senior investors and investors with diminished capacity. The Report has one part...more
The SEC’s Division of Examinations issued its 2025 Exam Priorities a few months ago. 2025-exam-priorities.pdf Many articles have been written about those priorities, but none—at least that I have seen—have addressed the focus...more
The effective date of the DOL’s new expansive fiduciary rule and the amendments to Prohibited Transaction Exemption (PTE) 2020-02 has been stayed pending the outcome of the lawsuits challenging the rule and the amended PTE....more
The stay of the effective dates of the amended fiduciary regulation and amended exemptions means that the “old” fiduciary regulation (the 5-part test) and the amended exemptions continue in effect indefinitely. As a result,...more
The DOL’s fiduciary regulation was scheduled to become effective this September 23. The exemptions were scheduled to become partially effective this September 23 and fully effective September 23, 2025....more
In November 2023, the U.S. Department of Labor released its package of proposed changes to the regulation defining fiduciary advice and to the exemptions for conflicts and compensation for investment recommendations to...more
The U.S. Department of Labor has released its package of proposed changes to the regulation defining fiduciary advice and to the exemptions for conflicts and compensation for investment recommendations to retirement plans,...more
The U.S. Department of Labor has released its package of proposed changes to the regulation defining nondiscretionary fiduciary advice and to the exemptions for conflicts and compensation for investment recommendations to...more
The US Department of Labor has released its package of proposed changes to the regulation defining fiduciary advice and to the exemptions for conflicts and compensation for investment advice to plans, participants (including...more
On October 31, 2023, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued a much-anticipated proposal to amend its 1975 “investment advice fiduciary” regulation, which defines when a person who provides investment advice for a fee or other...more
The SEC Division of Examinations recently released its 2024 Examination Priorities (2024-exam-priorities.pdf (sec.gov)). While the Priorities cover a range issues, this article focuses on the Priorities that could impact...more
Beneficiaries of qualified tuition programs under Section 529 of the Internal Revenue Code (“529 accounts”) will have a new opportunity starting January 1, 2024. Under SECURE Act 2.0 (the “Act”), 529 account beneficiaries...more
The current DOL fiduciary rule says that a broker-dealer and its registered representatives (advisors) are fiduciaries to a plan under ERISA if a functional 5-part test is satisfied. This same 5-part test applies to...more
The DOL’s expanded definition of fiduciary advice is explained in the preamble to PTE 2020-02. When conflicted fiduciary advice is given to retirement investors, that is, retirement plans, participants (including...more
The DOL’s expanded definition of fiduciary advice is explained in the preamble to PTE 2020-02. When conflicted fiduciary advice is given to retirement investors (that is, retirement plans, participants (including rollovers),...more
The DOL’s expanded definition of fiduciary advice to retirement plans, participants, and IRAs was described in the preamble to PTE 2020-02. The PTE then provides relief for conflicted non-discretionary recommendations to...more