Compliance March 20, 2014

New Fiduciary Sought for Abandoned NYC Plan

The Department of Labor (DOL) is seeking approval to have an independent fiduciary appointed for an abandoned New York City retirement plan.
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The DOL recently filed a related lawsuit, Perez v. Council on Economic Priorities Inc. 403(b) Retirement Plan (docket number: 14-CV-1555), in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. In the suit, the DOL asks that the court appoint an independent trustee and fiduciary to administer the Council on Economic Priorities Inc. 403(b) Retirement Plan and distribute its assets to its participants and beneficiaries.

The suit details that the plan was established in January 1993 by The Council on Economic Priorities Inc., also known as The Center for Responsibility in Business, which was also the plan’s administrator. The company, whose last known address was 30 Irving Place in Manhattan, went out of business in or around 1998 and exists without a trustee.

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Since 1998, no individual or entity has come forward to assume fiduciary responsibility for the plan or to distribute its assets. The Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. is the plan’s custodian. According to the DOL, without a duly appointed trustee or fiduciary, the custodian cannot release the plan’s $115,538 in assets to its remaining 11 participants.

A copy of the lawsuit document can be downloaded here.

Products March 20, 2014

Castle Rock and fi360 Integrate Solutions

Retirement plan technology providers fi360 and Castle Rock Innovations launched a collaborate solution that combines the firms’ various data technologies and adviser tool sets.
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The new offering provides a “zero touch” solution that integrates the two firms’ mutual products and services, such as the fi360 Toolkit for Advisors and Castle Rock’s AXIS Retirement Analytics Platform.  

“Both fi360 and Castle Rock have numerous products and services that cater to the retirement industry, many of which are complementary,” explains Blaine Aikin, CEO of fi360. He says the partnership between the two firms will ensure fi360’s adviser tools complement Castle Rock’s data solutions.  

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The solution allows home office staff and advisers to view their respective books of retirement plan business without having to move data entries into multiple systems.  Within the solution, clients can review and report on their consolidated data sets, prepare plan benchmark reports, and create 408(b)(2) fee disclosures from a common framework.  Individual advisers can use the solution to evaluate and monitor the investments in their plans using the fi360 Fiduciary Score, or other homegrown due diligence processes. 

“We’re excited to see this collaborative effort come to fruition,” adds Khash Sarrafi, CEO of Castle Rock. He explains that the joint venture is built on the legacies of fi360 as an adviser software provider, and Castle Rock as a plan data aggregator and disclosure services provider.

Sarrafi says the fully-automated, technology-driven collaboration should allow clients to focus on managing and marketing their respective services and growing their book of business.

Home offices that are interested in the solution can contact enterprise sales at fi360 (steve@fi360.com) or Castle Rock (randy.namin@castlerockinv.com).

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