DOL Announces Decision to Re-Propose Rule on Definition of a Fiduciary

NEWS

September 2011

DOL Announces Decision to Re-Propose Rule on Definition of a Fiduciary

On September 19, 2011, the Department of Labor (the "DOL") announced that it will re-propose its rule on the definition of a fiduciary under ERISA. Regulations proposed in October 2010 significantly broadened the circumstances in which an investment advice provider would be an ERISA fiduciary, in order to adapt the rule (originally issued in 1975) to the current retirement marketplace. However, Industry advocates have said the proposed rules would have adversely impacted customer choice in the IRA marketplace, and would have made it very difficult for consumers to receive sound, professional investment advice on retirement planning. For these and other reasons, the DOL received more than 260 written public comments, held a two day public hearing this March, and conducted more than three dozen individual meetings with interested parties and members of Congress. The re-proposal, consistent with President Obama's January 2011 executive order on improving regulation and regulatory review, will provide an opportuity for additional input, review, and coordination with other agencies, such as the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodities Futures Trading Commission, to ensure that the re-proposal is harmonized with other ongoing rulemaking. The DOL anticipates that the revisions will:

    • clarify that fiduciary advice is limited to individualized advice directed to specific parties;

    • address the availability of exemptions for certain existing fee practices; and

    • respond to concerns about the rule's application to routine appraisals and arm's-length commercial transactions (such as swap transactions).

The new proposed regulations are expected in early 2012.

—WAYNE C. BOOTHBY and KEVIN E. NOLT



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