>>>>An article in PLANSPONSOR this week alerted us to the release of a report from ASPPA’s National Tax Sheltered Accounts Association’s 403(b) Compliance Resolution Summit. The purpose of the summit is to “identify service issues and develop best practices for the resolution of those issues.” Included in the report from this year’s summit are recommendations related to new 408(b)(2) and 404(a)(5) fee disclosure regulations , the effects of the DOL’s proposal to redefine “fiduciary” and other compliance and plan servicing concerns.
While specific to 403(b) plans, the report and recommendations are a valuable resource for any professional servicing retirement plans and wrestling with how best to prepare for upcoming regulatory changes. Here is an overview of just some of the recommendations made by the participants at the event:
- In regards to fee disclosure:
- How to better educate plan sponsors
- Set expectations at the outset as to who is responsible for which aspects of disclosure
- Perform a self-evaluation to determine 408(b)(2) obligations
- In regards to participant advice and fiduciary issues:
- “[R]egardless of whether the definition of fiduciary remains as it has been for the last 35 years, or in the alternative may be expanded, it is always a best practice for employers and participants to select advisors who are competent and helpful, and who will provide full disclosures as to fees and any potential conflicts as it may affect the plan or the participant(s).”
A summary of the report, including a link directly to the report itself, can be found on the NTSAA’s website.
>>>>If you are reading this blog post, you might be inclined to share a particular link you think is interesting or insightful or instructive to your prospects and clients. You might even choose to do so by using a social media platform, such as Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, or others. The publishers of those links certainly make it easy to do so with buttons that remove any manual steps for “Liking” or otherwise sharing the article to your audience. However, an article in RIABiz last week reminds you to think first before doing so, lest you be in violation of your firm’s policies or even SEC compliance. The article summarizes SEC guidance on the issue of social media use by advisers, as well as recommending you be aware of your company’s policies and to pay particular attention to violation of the “testimonial” rule. Fi360 General Counsel Kristina Fausti did a similar blog post just a couple of weeks ago that points advisors to the pertinent guidance as to their use of social media.
Now on to the rest of the best links from the past week:
In the news:
- Duane discusses Bachus stepping down with Garrett being the next replacement [InvestmentNews]
- The battle over a broker's fiduciary role to their clients reaches a standstill [The Wall Street Journal]
- NAIFA tells the DOL the fiduciary IRA request is difficult [AdvisorOne]
- FSI and DOL meet to discuss potential fiduciary rule [Financial Advisor]
- Leaders of FSI say defining a fiduciary standard for the industry is among their challenges for the upcoming year [Financial Planning]
- Key fiduciary rule for brokers and advisers is broken [Market Watch]
- Richard Ketchum says ties between government and SROs are likely to get tighter [Reuters]
- Knut Rostad discusses John Bogle, the most successful Wall St. occupier [AdvisorOne]
- Bob Clark discusses the blame game, protecting fiduciary advisors from unreasonable liability [AdvisorOne]
- During the FSI OnceVoice conference, CEO of Securities America warns Washington to not abuse its regulatory power [AdvisorOne]
From the blogs:
- Series: Part 1-Benchmarking, the key to a 401k plan sponsor's fiduciary compliance review, Part 2-Are 401k plan sponsors making the grade, and Part 3-The best way 401k plan sponsors can benchmark their plans [Fiduciary News]
- Trending topics for plan sponsors from last week [Fiduciary News]
- AIF designee Scott Dauenhauer asks, Is ASPPA really interested in disclosure? [The Meridian]
- AIF designee Roman Ciosek says a thorough insurance review is important [Strata Sphere]
From the organizations/associations/government/academia:
- University of Michigan Professor discusses a comparative approach to fiduciary obligation and the role of markets [Social Science Research Network]
- Benefit Plans Inc. is certified to industry best practices [CEFEX]
- Study reveals U.S. households believe current retirement saving initiatives should be maintained [ICI]
- Fred Reish examines statements made by the DOL regarding distributions and rollovers from qualified plans to IRAs [DrinkerBiddle]
Articles your clients are reading (or should be):
- Is your financial planner who they say they are? [Forbes]
- Investing: it's about expectations, Should you have alternative investments in your portfolio?, Understanding earnings and earnings estimates, and more from U.S. News [The Smarter Investor]
Have a link we missed? Leave them in the comments section or email us at blog@fi360.com. For more of the best links during the week, make sure you follow us on Twitter
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