Fearing that some advisors to retirement plans evade their responsibilities, the feds are considering taking a second look at the definition of a fiduciary.
The Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) plans to re-examine its test of fiduciary status, said Phyllis Borzi, assistant secretary of labor for the Department of Labor (DOL) at a membership meeting of the Investment Company Institute, a mutual-fund industry trade group.
In the coming months, the EBSA also hopes to announce new regs regarding investment advice for 401(k)-type plans. But before it does it must wade through the 70 comments the agency received regarding its proposed investment advice regs.
Borzi also announced that the EBSA hopes to release a best-practices checklist for fiduciaries in the coming weeks, which will be designed to help small and mid-size plan sponsors navigate today’s investment landscape.
Stay tuned. We’ll keep you posted as the DOL releases new info.
Info: “Regulation On 401(k) Investment Advice Seen Forthcoming,” by Daisy Maxey, Dow Jones Newswires, 5/11/10.
Do you think the definition of a fiduciary needs to be clarified? What are your thoughts about the proposed investment advice regs? Let us know in the Comments Box below.
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