As we previously reported in our Legal Update, in April 2016 the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) replaced its 1975 regulation that set the parameters for determining when a person should be treated as a fiduciary under ERISA when providing advice with respect to investment matters (the “Fiduciary Rule”). The new definition treats persons who provide investment advice or recommendations for a fee or other compensation with respect to assets of a plan or IRA as fiduciaries in a much wider array of relationships than was true under the 1975 regulation. In connection with the publication of the new Fiduciary Rule, the DOL also published two new administrative class exemptions from the prohibited transaction provisions of ERISA and the Internal Revenue Code—the BIC Exemption and the Principal Transactions Exemption—as well as amendments to PTE 84-24, commonly relied upon for the sale of insurance contracts to ERISA plans. As discussed in the Legal Update, just as plan fiduciaries geared up for these major changes, the DOL began to back peddle as a result of the change in administration and new leadership at the DOL. So where are we now?
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