"Many provisions go beyond just addressing bad actors, foreign convictions and exemption ineligibility ... These higher thresholds, and the burden of annual required updates, will be difficult to achieve for smaller QPAMs. New recordkeeping requirements add significantly to the burden of compliance, without any significant justification.... Clarification is needed on the exemption when it is used by a QPAM for hiring service providers[.]"  MORE >>

"[T]he fourth condition -- the annual retrospective review -- can't be satisfied until next year, since it involves a review of the covered recommendations in 2022.... [If] the review isn't performed and the report certified as required, the financial institution (e.g., broker-dealer or RIA firm) didn't satisfy the requirements of the PTE and the relief provided by the PTE isn't available. As a result, all the covered recommendations for the year, including any rollover recommendations, would be prohibited transactions[.]"  MORE >>

"Although formally the Bulletin cannot and does not articulate legal rules beyond the existing requirements of Reg BI and investment advisers’ fiduciary duty with respect to conflicts of interest, its interpretation of these requirements is broad, and the Staff appears to treat the two standards as identical."  MORE >>

"Although the courts are divided, there are some guidelines that plan fiduciaries need to consider when reviewing their plan's mix of mutual funds offered for participant investment: [1] Include index funds in your plan's investment choices.... [2] Be careful in selecting and monitoring actively managed funds.... [3] Plan fiduciaries should always select the lowest cost class of a selected mutual fund that is available."  MORE >>

"[This article] examines the mindset of someone who seeks business continuity, rather than consolidation, both in her purchase of her practice, and in her planning for her own exit strategy. To prevent your independent firm from taking a direction other than the one you envisioned, it is necessary to have an exit strategy integrated into your vision, goals, and planning."  MORE >>

"The right to name a beneficiary is one such participant right that can be granted to an alternate payee, and indeed many plans grant an alternate payee the right to name a beneficiary. However, that right is limited to an assignment under a separate interest QDRO, as the payment of benefits under a shared payment QDRO is subject to the participant's elections."  MORE >>

"Proposals to eliminate back door Roth conversions with after-tax contributions ... and to eliminate Roth conversions in general ... for high-income taxpayers were not included as revenue raisers to offset the cost of the broader bill.... Earlier iterations of the BBB had also included proposals to impose contribution limits ... and mandatory RMDs for high-income taxpayers with large retirement balances, but those did not resurface either. "  MORE >>

"[F]or 86% of respondents, the savings tools and calculators offered by their provider's 401(k) website are very or somewhat helpful, compared with 77% in 2020.... Online tools and resources can be particularly helpful for engaging with Generation Z, and plan providers with robust resources can accrue an advantage[.]"  MORE >>

19 pages. "While many state pension divestment bills expressly exclude managed investment funds and private equity funds, some do not. Some initiatives further require that the pension fund board request that investment fund managers create similar funds without the targeted holdings. Beyond legislation on divestment and state contracts, states are deploying task forces, investigations and report committees to encourage or discourage ESG investing, while some pension funds are adopting their own investment and proxy voting policies that incorporate ESG."  MORE >>

"[If] you are trying to determine whether a particular plan is exempt from ERISA, you need to ask if the 'plan' is a 'governmental plan,' not if the sponsor is a 'public' employer.... [It] might be possible for certain entities to be both public charities and governmental organizations. We discussed this in an earlier post where we referred to such entities as 'bitaxual.' And, while there are some distinct retirement plan advantages to being bitaxual, there are also some potential retirement plan pitfalls."  MORE >>