Compliance

The SPARK Institute has released for public review and comment a draft sample Information Sharing Agreement (ISA) for 403(b) plan vendors and employers.

The SPARK Institute has released for public review and comment the first of two proposals for best practices in information sharing among 403(b) plan providers and sponsors.

Citigroup Inc. has agreed to pay $33 million to about 2,500 current and former female brokers for its Smith Barney unit to settle a gender discrimination lawsuit.

An early “win″ for plan sponsors (perhaps more accurately, a win for a plan sponsor) was Hecker v. Deere&Co.

New Jersey Supreme Court justices are considering whether a Smith Barney company stock policy in which brokers who leave the firm before two years forfeit their rights to...

Federal regulators have contended that fiduciaries may still be legally required to disclose plan fees such as revenue sharing even if such a mandate is not explicit in...

The SPARK Institute has submitted a formal request to the IRS for a “Pre-Approved 403(b) Prototype Plan Program,″ according to SPARK Institute general counsel Larry Goldbrum.

The SPARK Institute has filed a 13-page comment letter with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) about the new 403(b) retirement savings plan regulations, asking for an extension of...

New York City comptroller William Thompson said he will investigate whether the failure of Bear Stearns&Co was due to miscalculation or deception.

When a co-worker forwarded to me an e-mail about Eliot Spitzer’s alleged tie with a prostitution ring last week, I thought it was a joke.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has issued Announcement 2008-23, which lays out a new simplified process for obtaining determination letters for pre-approved defined contribution plans.

ING presented information during a Web cast on Friday that gives sponsors, and the advisers who help them, an outline of the impact of the 403(b) regulations and...

It didn’t take long for the news from Bear Stearns to draw the attention of the plaintiffs’ bar.

A federal judge in Pennsylvania has approved a $14 million settlement of a nine-year legal battle over allegations New York Life Insurance Co. improperly directed employees’ and agents’...

California’s Attorney General and Capital Research and Management Company, the investment adviser to the American Funds family of mutual funds, have entered into an agreement to withdraw their...

While it’s been a relatively mild winter here (and it’s not over yet), it’s been cold enough—and our house old enough—that opening the various utility bills has been...

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has issued new guidance regarding three areas of plan administration changed by the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA).

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that Fidelity Investments agreed to pay an $8 million penalty in connection with charges 13 current or former employees improperly took...

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has proposed two new rules under the Investment Company Act to allow exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to operate without first getting SEC exemptive...

If you watch commercial TV (that is to say, TV with commercials), you’ve no doubt been struck by the proliferation of ads for various prescription medicines.