The U.S. Dept. of Labor announced a new exemption
for investment advice fiduciaries and launched
a resource
page on the exemption. The exemption allows investment advice fiduciaries to offer
a wide array of investment advice services in compliance with specified
Impartial Conduct Standards.
The new prohibited transaction class exemption is
for investment advice fiduciaries and is based on an existing temporary policy
adopted after the 5th
Circuit Court of Appeals vacated the Department’s 2016 fiduciary rule package.
Since the 5th Circuit’s 2018 ruling, the Securities and Exchange Commission
(SEC) has issued a package of advice standards. The standards in the
Department’s exemption announced today align with standards of other
regulators, including the SEC.
The
exemption notice also expresses the Department’s views on when rollover advice
could be considered fiduciary advice under the Employee Retirement Income
Security Act (ERISA) and the Internal Revenue Code.
The exemption will be effective 60 days
after publication in the Federal Register.