Category: Prohibited Transactions & Exemptions

The New Fiduciary Rule and Amended PTE 2020-02: Effective Date Considerations

The DOL’s new fiduciary advice rule, effective September 23, 2024, will cause many one-time recommendations to be fiduciary advice.  As a result, many more recommendations to retirement investors—private sector retirement plans, participants in those plans, and IRA owners—by broker-dealers and their representatives (advisors) will undoubtedly be fiduciary advice under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) and the Internal Revenue Code (the Code).

If the fiduciary advice results in compensation that the advisor would not have received absent the advice (for example, commissions or 12b-1 fees on IRA investment transactions or advisory fees from the IRA, in the case of a rollover), it is considered conflicted compensation prohibited under ERISA and the Code. As a result, many advisors will need the protection provided by Prohibited Transaction Exemption (PTE) 2020-02 in order to receive the conflicted compensation resulting from the fiduciary advice.

Continue reading “The New Fiduciary Rule and Amended PTE 2020-02: Effective Date Considerations”

Proposed Changes to PTE 2020-02 that Impact Broker-Dealers

The DOL has proposed amendments to its regulation defining fiduciary advice so that, in most cases, a single recommendation to a retirement investor will be a fiduciary act.  In addition, the DOL has proposed amendments to  Prohibited Transaction Exemption (PTE) 2020-02, which provides relief for prohibited conflicts of interest (e.g., commissions and fees). Both the amended regulation and the PTE could be finalized soon.  This post focuses on the proposed amendments that will impact broker-dealers and their registered representatives (investment professionals).

Background

The current and proposed PTE 2020-02 allow broker-dealers and investment professionals to receive conflicted compensation resulting from non-discretionary fiduciary investment advice to private sector tax-qualified and ERISA-governed retirement plans, participants in those plans, and IRA owners (collectively, “retirement investors.”).  The current version of the PTE is not available for investment advice generated solely by an interactive website based on personal information supplied by the investor on the website (i.e., robo-advice) where there is no personal interaction or advice with an investment professional.

Continue reading “Proposed Changes to PTE 2020-02 that Impact Broker-Dealers”

Compensation Requirements under Proposed Amendments to PTE 2020-02

Broker-dealers and their registered representatives (advisors) providing services to private sector tax-qualified and ERISA-governed retirement plans, participants in those plans and IRA owners (collectively, Retirement Investors) are subject to a number of compensation rules.

ERISA’s fiduciary responsibility rules mandate that ERISA plans pay no more than reasonable compensation to service providers (including advisors).

In addition, the prohibited transaction rules that apply to Retirement Investors set limitations on compensation. For example, if a service provider receives compensation in excess of a reasonable amount, the excess is a prohibited transaction for both the plan fiduciary and the service provider. It is also a prohibited transaction if an advisor receives compensation that varies based upon the recommendation made (i.e., variable compensation) or third-party compensation as a result of the recommendation, unless a prohibited transaction exemption applies. Lastly, some prohibited transaction exemptions – like Prohibited Transaction Exemption (PTE) 2020-02 – have other limitations on compensation. This post focuses on the compensation limitations in the DOL’s proposed amendments to PTE 2020-02.

Continue reading “Compensation Requirements under Proposed Amendments to PTE 2020-02”

Compliance with PTE 2020-02: Mitigating Conflicts of Interest

Key Takeaways

  • PTE 2020-02 requires that financial institutions—such as broker-dealers—mitigate conflicts of interest “to the extent that a reasonable person reviewing the policies and procedures and incentives as a whole would conclude that they do not create an incentive for the firm or the investment professional to place their interests ahead of the interest of the retirement investor.
  • The DOL has issued FAQs that provide examples of mitigation techniques to reduce compliance risks in connection with compensation structures.
  • While there are a variety of mitigation techniques that can be used for different types of conflicts, the following two elements need to be part of mitigating every type of conflict: (1) an appropriate best interest process for developing the recommendation; and (2) supervision of the proper implementation of that process.

Background

The DOL’s prohibited transaction exemption (PTE) 2020-02 (Improving Investment Advice for Workers & Retirees), allows broker-dealers and their registered representatives (advisors) to receive conflicted compensation resulting from non-discretionary fiduciary investment advice to private sector tax-qualified and ERISA-governed retirement plans, participants in those plans, and IRA owners. (The PTE refers to those 3 classes of investors as “retirement investors.”) In addition, in the preamble to the PTE, the DOL announced an expanded definition of fiduciary advice, meaning that many more broker-dealers and their advisors are fiduciaries for their recommendations to retirement investors – including rollover recommendations – and therefore, will need the protection provided by the exemption.

Continue reading “Compliance with PTE 2020-02: Mitigating Conflicts of Interest”

PTE 2020-02 Compliance: Avoiding Five Common Mistakes

It may be a New Year, but 2022 is going to seem very familiar to Broker-Dealers (BD) and their Registered Representatives who advise retirement plans and IRAs: they are going to be spending a lot of time working to comply with new exemptions and new ERISA rules coming from the Department of Labor (DOL). As some of these deadlines are right around the corner, in this post we’re going to review the five most common pitfalls and problems we’ve seen clients face, and how to better address them in disclosures and policies and procedures.

So what’s ahead this year regarding fiduciary advice and exemptions? First, DOL is working on a new proposed definition of ERISA fiduciary investment advice to replace the 1975 regulation, and could publish the new proposal for comments this spring. This proposal may also include changes to DOL’s new Prohibited Transaction Exemption 2020-02 (the PTE). If DOL succeeds in rewriting these rules, they likely will go into effect in 2023. That means the current rule and the current version of the PTE will likely remain in effect for the next 12-18 months.

Continue reading “PTE 2020-02 Compliance: Avoiding Five Common Mistakes”

SLOW Your Roll: DOL Temporarily Halts Enforcement of Compliance with PTE and ERISA Fiduciary Obligations for Rollover Advice

Benjamin Franklin once said “don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today.” While that is always prudent advice, the Department of Labor (DOL) believes it’s best to grant an extension to investment advisors and broker-dealers to comply with the full terms of the Prohibited Transaction Exemption 2020-02 (PTE 2020-02), beyond the current December 21, 2021, deadline. A previous blog post covered the scope of the PTE and provided guidance on compliance.

Continue reading “SLOW Your Roll: DOL Temporarily Halts Enforcement of Compliance with PTE and ERISA Fiduciary Obligations for Rollover Advice”

The New DOL Fiduciary “Rule” For Investment Advisers and Broker-Dealers and the December 20 Deadline: The Time to Act is Now

The DOL’s new fiduciary “rule” became effective on February 16, 2021. The rule is a combination of a new and expansive definition of fiduciary advice (and status) and an exemption from the prohibitions of ERISA and the Internal Revenue Code for financial conflicts of interest arising from nondiscretionary fiduciary advice. These changes impact all investment advisers and broker-dealers who provide services to retirement plans, participants and IRA owners.

This article summarizes the new guidance, the requirements currently in effect, and the demanding additional requirements that must be satisfied beginning on December 21, 2021. And, beginning on December 21, the full terms of Prohibited Transaction Exemption (PTE) 2020-02 will apply, including the acknowledgement of fiduciary status, the conflicts and services disclosures and, for the types of rollovers discussed below, the written statement of the “specific reasons” the rollover recommendation is in the best interest of the participant or IRA owner.

Continue reading “The New DOL Fiduciary “Rule” For Investment Advisers and Broker-Dealers and the December 20 Deadline: The Time to Act is Now”