Tag: DoL

The former owner is also barred from serving as a fiduciary, trustee, agent, or representative to an employee benefit plan. 

A federal district court has ordered eye-care company Eye Centers of Tennessee LLC, its owner Dr. Larry E. Patterson, and its office administrator Raymond K. Mays to pay $971,622 in restitution to the company’s 401(k) plan.

Expert attorneys warn the new non-enforcement policy binds only the DOL and IRS; state regulators and private plaintiffs could potentially seek to bring an action for alleged non-compliance with impartial conduct standards.

A federal district court has entered a consent judgment requiring the fiduciaries of the Sonnax Industries’ employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) to pay $2,225,000 to the plan.

Backing away from the topic of the DOL fiduciary rule, ERISA attorney Fred Reish focused his speech at the Plan Sponsor Council of America’s national conference on general compliance duties of ERISA plan sponsors; he noted that courts have applied what is called the “two hats” doctrine.

If an adviser reduced their fee due to the receipt of 12b-1 fees, the SEC might not ask for any disgorgement; for instance, the SEC says, if an adviser regularly charges an annual management fee of 1.25% of assets but lowered that to 1% in light of the 12b-1 fees, the SEC says it is unlikely to ask for any disgorgement.

The rise in lawsuits is prompting more sponsors to turn to lower-cost index funds—and could prevent them from offering lifetime income products.

A pair of former executives of First Farmers Financial are being punished for their involvement in the sale of $179 million in fraudulent loans to a Milwaukee company that provided investment services to 42 retirement plans covered by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

Anticipating the DOL will not itself ask the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to reconsider a crucial mid-March panel ruling that vacated the Obama-era fiduciary rule expansion, attorneys general and retiree advocacy organizations are speaking out, asking the full appellate court to reassess its decision.

A complicated decision out of a Virginia district court weighs the merits of third-party expert commentary in ERISA litigation, in this case pertaining to an allegedly improper ESOP transaction.

The release of a thousand-page "best interest" rulemaking package by the SEC applying to all brokers and investment advisers is being hailed as a victory by some and a deep disappointment by others; either way, it's the start of another long chapter in the epic industry battle over federal conflict of interest regulations. 

The seminar will be held in Queens in New York City on May 17.

Nearly a month after an appellate court unexpectedly quashed the DOL fiduciary rule expansion, the Securities and Exchange Commission has announced a date and time for its first formal meeting on the topic.

Amid a glut of retirement plan industry litigation and regulatory change, advisers are asking the twin questions of whether one owes a fiduciary duty to their client, and if so, what exactly those fiduciary duties entail.  

The “Getting It Right – Know Your Fiduciary Responsibilities” seminar will be held in Providence, Rhode Island, on June 28.

A fiduciary to the Southside Manufacturing Corp. Retirement 401(k) Savings Plan will pay restitution of $87,276 for stealing from an employee benefit plan, and failing to pay federal taxes.

The Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards has adopted a revised ethics code that requires a CFP professional to act as a fiduciary in all client service contexts, and therefore, to act in the best interests of the client at all times when providing financial advice.

Following a broadly structured decision by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to vacate the DOL fiduciary rule expansion, the National Association for Fixed Annuities decided its own appellate challenge has been made unnecessary.

With so much uncertainty now overhanging the future of the DOL fiduciary rule expansion, the onus is squarely on advisers, broker/dealers and recordkeepers to decide how they will respond; we hear from one small advisory firm in Northern Ohio that will carry on with business as usual.

While the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has vacated the DOL fiduciary rule expansion, one attorney warns the rule is still technically in effect, at the very least until the court issues a “mandate” opening a limited period during which the Department of Labor can choose to contest the decision; he also questions whether the circuit courts are in fact split on the matter, as some are suggesting.