Brad Campbell Provides Insight on 401(k) Fiduciary Investment Advice Standards With Bloomberg Law

In “Regulators Revive 401(k) Fiduciary Effort in New Legal Landscape,” benefits and executive compensation partner Brad Campbell spoke to Bloomberg Law about the Department of Labor (DOL) drafting new regulations that are expected to broaden the definition of an investment advice fiduciary as it applies to retirement plans.

“There has been a dramatic change to the regulatory world in the last few years,” Campbell said. The publication also detailed how the DOL can issue some exemptive relief for retirement accounts and insurance products that are not traditionally covered under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

However, that authority is limited, Campbell explained, and it now appears that the DOL is again trying to use it to supplant other regulatory agencies. “They’re trying to redefine the scope of their authority to then use their exemption power to regulate the conduct,” he added. “It’s a regulatory two-step.”