S5:E9 | DOL Fiduciary Rule Update – Where Are We Now and Best Practices for Retirement Investors – Lessons From The Front Lines | Compliance In Context

Welcome back to the Compliance in Context Podcast! On today’s show, we feature a Lessons From The Front Lines episode where we welcome an august panel to provide an in-depth look at the embattled DOL Fiduciary Rule—including where are we now, what’s next, and what other best practices firms should firms have in place currently regarding any investment recommendations being made and other services provided to retirement investors. To help guide us through this important topic and share some fantastic insights for our listeners, we welcome in august panel of experts—Jason Berkowitz with the Insured Retirement Institute, David Kaleda with the Groom Law Group, and Jason Roberts with the Pension Resource Institute.

Show

Interview with Jason Berkowitz, David Kaleda, and Jason Roberts

• Reviewing the current state of the DOL Fiduciary Rule
• Is there a path where the DOL gets the decision reversed or where PTE 2020-02 gets separated out?
• With the recent DOL Fiduciary Rule getting stayed, where does that leave ERISA investment fiduciaries? What is the status quo?
• Understanding the 1975 regulation and PTE 2020-02
• What is the impact of the Florida district court ruling?
• Best practices around providing investment recommendations to retirement investors
• What are the types of things compliance officers can build into their programs now to ensure compliance to PTE 2020-02?
• What about disclosures for IRAs to IRAs?
• What about the annual review?
• Reviewing Reg BI, NAIC, and the full regulatory framework and the related obligations for market participants
• What is the current state of enforcement in this area?

Quotes

05:57 – “Let me just start with a quick overview of what the regulatory package is, that was adopted earlier this year. It included four components. The first component is a change in the definition of who is a fiduciary under ERISA. And then the other three changes, or the other three components, rather, were changes to what are called prohibited transaction exemptions, which are essentially the rules that ERISA fiduciaries have to follow in order to receive compensation for their services. And, in effect, essentially the way that, at least for my organization and our members, we look at this final regulatory package as significantly expanding the reach of fiduciary status to reach almost any financial professional who interacts in any way with a retirement saver and create significant new burdens and hassles for those individuals in order to get paid.” – Jason Berkowitz

09:18 – “So at this point we're still waiting to see how this will be resolved. There are really two tracks here. One is just this effective date stay, and the other the next track is the merits of the case, whether the DOL even has the authority to do this in the first place. So the DOL did file a notice of interlocutory appeal, which basically means they're appealing the stay at this point and also all the parties had been working on a decision on the underlying regulation and exemptions that's being put on hold so that the DOL can at least consider what they're going to appeal. At this point, they've just noticed the court that they could appeal. Whether they do or not, I guess, remains to be seen.” – David Kaleda