The US Department of Labor’s final fiduciary rule captures rollover, transfer and distribution recommendations to retirement investors. In essence, under the rule, a financial organization or adviser is acting as a fiduciary when advising a retail client to take a rollover or distribution from an ERISA plan or individual retirement account, even if the rollover or distribution recommendation is not accompanied by an investment recommendation as to the rollover or distribution proceeds. When an ERISA plan is the source of funds for the rollover, the DOL’s view is that ERISA’s normal fiduciary and prohibited transaction rules apply. When the source of funds is an IRA, the DOL’s position is that a prohibited transaction occurs due to the conflict that arises from the fee income that will be received by the financial organization if the rollover happens. In either case, reliance on an exemption will be necessary to avoid violating ERISA.
This publication focuses on the impact of the final rule on the business of accumulating assets through capturing rollovers and plan distributions.
View full memo, The DOL’s New Fiduciary Rule: Capturing the Apparent Conflict at the “Moment of Rollover”
