Happy Friday, readers! This weekend’s mailing focuses on the always timely topic of regulatory compliance. Below you will find our latest coverage of the DOL, SEC, FINRA and state-based regulators. Particularly interesting is Groom Law Group’s David Kaleda’s most recent column, offering advisers an inside view of what it’s like to be the subject of a Department of Labor examination under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). We hope you will share some of what you read with a client or colleague.
The number of Department of Labor investigations of financial advisers has steadily increased over the years; here is a primer on the DOL’s sources of authority, and what to expect when examiners come knocking.
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FINRA is encouraging firms to undertake a qualitative review of their supervisory practices ranging back to 2013—not a full quantitative analysis of individual 529 plan transactions or recommendations.
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The request regards information collection for Revenue Ruling 2000-35, which describes certain criteria that must be met before an employee’s compensation can be reduced and contributed to an employee’s section 403(b) plan in the absence of an affirmative election by the employee.
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The SEC made fundamental changes to the rules governing money market funds back in 2014; according to John Faustino at Fi360, the rule changes have created a big opportunity for advisers with stable value fund expertise.
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In a letter to the Government Accountability Office (GAO), lawmakers said retirement savings are “a tempting target for criminals who could hack into plans and individuals’ accounts to access information, commit identity fraud, and steal retirement savers’ nest eggs.”
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The standard-setting and regulatory support organization governed by the chief insurance regulators of all 50 states set today as a deadline for industry comments on the latest draft of a model best-interest suitability standard applying to annuity sales.
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