Fiduciary Governance

A published report says the Trump administration is prepared to nominate a new Assistant Secretary for the Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA). Politico Pro says that the much-anticipated nod will go to Preston Rutledge, currently Senior Tax and Benefits Counsel... READ MORE

Rep. Ann Wagner (R-MO) introduced legislation on Sept. 27 that would repeal the Department of Labor’s (DOL) fiduciary rule and create a new standard of conduct for brokers and dealers.Wagner has had her sights set on rolling back the fiduciary regulation since 2015, when she first introduced... READ MORE

The teeth, if not the ultimate fate, of the fiduciary rule may be a matter of debate, but even if they are uncertain, the rule has contributed to a sharper focus on the way fiduciary duties are discharged. That attention, and a heightened awareness of how one is performing such functions, will not... READ MORE

Running the plan and investing its assets in a way mindful of environmental, social and governance (ESG) concerns is a practice some plans follow. But a recent commentary questions whether that complements — or compromises — fulfilling fiduciary responsibility. In a commentary that recently... READ MORE

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), like the IRS and the Department of Labor, is granting some forms of relief to certain victims of Hurricane Irma. The PBGC in Disaster Relief Announcement 17-11, issued on Sept. 12, said that in response to Hurricane Irma it is waiving certain... READ MORE

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) says that, “Contrary to the alarmist claims of their lobbyists and the conclusions of opaque industry-funded studies,” financial firms are “fully ready” to comply with the fiduciary rule — and you don’t need to take her word for it.Warren, an early and enthusiastic... READ MORE

Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta will meet Sept. 5 with representatives of companies that oppose the Obama administration’s fiduciary rule, according to a published report.Politico Pro, citing two sources familiar with the matter, says the meeting at the Labor Department will include... READ MORE

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has made a quick response to the Labor Department’s request for a delay in the full BIC applicability date.In an update posted on the OMB site on August 28, the concluded action is noted as “Consistent With Change.” The OMB review, which frequently takes as... READ MORE

In a written response to a judge in litigation involving the fiduciary rule’s anti-arbitration provision, the Labor Department says the provision will “likely be mooted in the near future.”The letter (Thrivent Fin. for Lutherans v. Acosta, D. Minn., No. 0:16-cv-03289-SRN-DTS, letter to judge filed... READ MORE