Fred Reish Explores DOL Guidance for Fiduciary Investment Advice With BenefitsPRO

In the BenefitsPRO article “DOL releases fiduciary rule guidance,” benefits and executive compensation partner Fred Reish discussed the Department of Labor (DOL) guidance on its fiduciary investment advice for retirement investors, employee benefit plans and investment advice providers.

Reish said that the DOL’s guidance on “‘Choosing the Right Person’ is directed to participants, and it could provide helpful information to participants in making rollover decisions.” Meanwhile, the set of compliance-focused frequently asked questions (FAQs) “is directed to financial institutions, such as broker-dealers and investment advisers,” he added.

In its essence, “It is a conversational, easy-to-read explanation of what 2020-02 [the fiduciary PTE] requires and why the DOL made some of its decisions on fiduciary status and about the conditions to be satisfied in order to obtain the benefits of the exemption,” Reish explained. “But there was nothing new. Almost all of the information in the FAQs is found somewhere in the lengthy preamble to 2020-02. The FAQs will be helpful, though, to help people understand the rule and its requirements. It’s a starting point for compliance.”