Fred Reish Quoted in On Wall Street and Employee Benefit News on Fiduciary Rule Enforcement and Compliance

Los Angeles partner Fred Reish was quoted in two articles following partial implementation of the fiduciary rule on June 9.

An On Wall Street article, titled, “Fiduciary FAQ: What the latest milestone actually means,” discusses what has already gone into effect and what will change come January 1, 2018. Fred notes that while the DOL and IRS have said that they will hold off on enforcement during the transition period — if there is a diligent, good faith effort to comply — they cannot control private litigation.

An Employee Benefit News article, titled, “What employers should do to ensure fiduciary rule compliance,” discusses what plan sponsors should do to ensure compliance with the rule going forward. Fred notes that plan sponsors have a duty to know if their provider’s call center is encouraging participants to roll over to IRAs with the provider, as well as a duty to monitor the investment education participants are receiving from the plan provider.

“Plan sponsors, in their capacity as fiduciaries, should know whether or not their advisers are fiduciaries and whether they have any conflicts of interest,” Fred said. “If I were on a plan committee, I would ask the adviser for a written answer to those two questions.”

Read “What employers should do to ensure fiduciary rule compliance.” [Employee Benefit News]