DoL Issues Final Missing Beneficiary Rules

The U.S. Department of Labor (DoL) announced final rules under the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA) relating to distribution of 401(k) benefits for missing nonspouse beneficiaries in terminated plans, selection of annuity providers, and cross trading of securities by plans governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).

According to a press release, the PPA amended the Internal Revenue Code to allow the rollover of certain retirement benefits of a deceased participant into a tax-favored inherited individual retirement account (IRA) created on behalf of a nonspouse beneficiary. The new rule (and a related class exemption) conforms to the PPA by amending existing distribution requirements for terminated defined contribution plans, including abandoned plans, to require rollovers into inherited IRAs for missing nonspouse beneficiaries.

The DoL is issuing two final rules on selection of annuity providers: one limits the application of the “safest available” standard of Interpretive Bulletin 95-1 to defined benefit plans, and the other is a final regulation providing guidance, in the form of a safe harbor, for the selection of annuity providers by fiduciaries for benefit distributions from individual account plans.

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The final rule on cross trading addresses the content of the policies and procedures which must be adopted by an investment manager before engaging in cross trades of securities between clients, including employee benefit plans, the release said. The written policies and procedures must be fair and equitable to all account participants and must provide for appointment of a compliance officer who is responsible for periodically reviewing purchases and sales of securities made pursuant to the exemption to ensure compliance with the written policies and procedures.

The final rules are published in the October 7 edition of the Federal Register.

Natixis Unveils Mid-Cap Value Fund

Natixis Global Associates (NGA) announced the launch of the Delafield Select Fund.

According to an announcement, the fund, a concentrated portfolio of approximately 25 small- and mid-cap value stocks managed for capital appreciation, is managed by portfolio managers Vincent Sellecchia, J. Dennis Delafield, Charles Neuhauser, and Donald Wang.

Sellecchia and Delafield have also co-managed the Delafield Fund since its inception in 1993. Delafield Asset Management is a division of Reich & Tang Asset Management, the investment manager for the fund.

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The fund has been launched after acquiring the assets and liabilities of the Reich & Tang Concentrated Portfolio, L.P. Sellecchia has been a manager of the Concentrated, L.P. since its inception in 1998; Neuhauser and Wang since 2003; and Delafield since 2005. According to the announcement, the Delafield Select Fund has a substantially similar investment strategy to the Concentrated, L.P. but is a registered ’40 Act mutual fund and offers A, C, and Y shares.

Natixis Global Associates (NGA) is the distribution arm of Natixis Global Asset Management. Headquartered in Paris and Boston, Natixis Global Asset Management’s assets under management totaled $890 billion (€564 billion) as of June 30, 2008.


More information is available at www.ga.natixis.com.

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