"This change ... further aligns the retirement rules with securities laws like the [SEC's] Regulation Best Interest (Reg. BI).... The amendment eliminates the 'Covered Principal Transaction' definition, allowing fiduciary recommendations to retirement investors regardless of how the asset is traded.... [F]irms may be able to leverage their existing compliance framework substantially to meet the PTE 2020-02 conditions[.]"  MORE >>

"Now all Delaware employers that have five or more W-2 employees and that do not offer a qualified retirement plan must either: register for Delaware EARNS, or certify they qualify for an exemption from that requirement by Oct. 15, 2024; they can qualify if they [1] offer a qualified retirement plan, [2] have fewer than five employees, or [3] have been in business less than six months."  MORE >>

"[A]gencies [may] conclude that in at least some cases a robust rulemaking process is not worth the effort, resulting in fewer rulemaking projects and an increase in the pace and volume of subregulatory guidance, particularly following enactment of new laws or a change in administration. Over time, we may also see the courts develop layers of deference under Skidmore, which could then re-incentivize agencies to engage in a robust rulemaking process." [Loper Bright Enterprises, Inc. v. Raimondo, Sec. of Comm., No. 22-451 (S. Ct. Jun. 28, 2024)]  MORE >>

"The impact of this decision will likely be felt both in cases involving the SEC and those involving different administrative agencies. Most immediately, the SEC will have a hard decision to make with respect to a large swath of pending administrative enforcement proceedings seeking civil penalties for securities fraud." [SEC v. Jarkesy, No. 22-859 (Jun. 27, 2024)]  MORE >>

"A New York state judge has thrown out a lawsuit against three of the five pensions funds in the $264.3 billion New York City Retirement Systems ... 'Plaintiffs have not demonstrated sufficiently concrete or particularized harm,' [the judge] wrote. 'Rather, just as the plaintiffs in Thole, the outcome of this action will not affect plaintiffs' future benefits.' Four participants in the three pension funds sued in May 2023, claiming divestment was an 'unlawful decision to elevate unrelated policy goals over the financial health of the plans'[.]" [Wong v. NYCERS, TRS and BERS, No. 652297/2023 (NY Cty. Sup. Ct. Jul. 3, 2024)]  MORE >>

"Analyzing sequence-of-returns risk does not replace other tools used to evaluate asset-allocation risks but provides complementary analysis. And for some institutional investors, especially those with a high probability of depleting assets, sequence-of-returns risk may be outsized -- and they ignore it at their peril and that of their beneficiaries."  MORE >>

"In the short term, this is likely to bring about some destabilizing changes in regulatory frameworks, as long-settled regulations are subjected to new and more searching judicial inquiry. Over the long term, however, Loper Bright may bring more stability to regulated industries.... [T]he impact of Corner Post turns largely on the ability for parties to ask for and receive universal vacatur of agency regulations -- as opposed to merely party-specific relief." [Loper Bright Enterprises, Inc. v. Raimondo, Sec. of Comm., No. 22-451 (S. Ct. Jun. 28, 2024); Corner Post v. Bd. of Gov. of the Federal Reserve System, No. 22-1008 (S. Ct. Jul. 1, 2024)]  MORE >>

"The FTC's Rule largely banning employment-based noncompetes has been blocked by a Texas District Court ...But the injunctive relief against enforcement only applies in that Texas case.... The District Court in Texas indicated that it will issue a further plenary decision on the merits by Aug. 30 ... All eyes now turn to the Eastern District of Pennsylvania to see whether [that] court, ... where a hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, July 10, will follow or contradict the Texas ruling." [Ryan LLC v. Federal Trade Commission (no. 24-0986 (N.D. Tex. Jul. 3, 2024)]  MORE >>