Utah-based American Pension Services, led by Curtis DeYoung, has been charged by the SEC with fraud, based on an alleged $22 million loss in self-directed IRAs. All of the firm’s assets have been... Read More
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Regulatory Compliance
BY John Ortman | 4/27/2014
Sometimes a participant can be caught between a rock and a hard place when a qualified plan loan must be repaid upon termination of employment. A recent IRS private letter ruling provides a good... Read More
BY John Ortman | 4/25/2014
A DOL investigation can be time consuming, expensive and potentially damaging to your reputation if the DOL concludes that you have violated an ERISA requirement. But it doesn’t have to be about fear... Read More
BY Fred Barstein | 4/24/2014
A group of 150 advisors have sent a letter to the SEC claiming that Rule 2243, which would require advisors to disclose recruiting bonuses, will cause clients more harm than good. The comment period... Read More
BY Fred Barstein | 4/23/2014
Qualified retirement plans offer employees significant tax savings and have become a mainstay of most group benefits. But to maintain their qualified status, they must comply with a set of... Read More
BY Fred Barstein | 4/22/2014
Concerned about the costs and questioning whether the rule is necessary, an industry group asked the DOL April 11 to delay the rulemaking process it began last month requiring covered service... Read More
BY Fred Barstein | 4/14/2014
The DOL’s expanded fiduciary definition rule could reduce retirement savings by 20%-40%, according to a study commissioned by Davis... Read More
BY Fred Barstein | 4/11/2014
Perceiving that his mission has little to no chance of succeeding, FINRA CEO Richard Ketchum admitted to the Wall Street Journal April 10 that he is backing off his quest to oversee RIAs. His group,... Read More
BY Ronald J. Triche | 4/7/2014
On April 4, 2014, the IRS issued Notice 2014-19 as a follow-up to Revenue Ruling 2013-17 regarding the Supreme Court’s decision in the U.S. v. Windsor DOMA case. While Rev. Rul. 2013-17 gave general... Read More
BY John Ortman | 3/26/2014
It’s been two weeks since the DOL issued its proposal to require a new 408(b)(2) fee disclosure summary, and we’re now starting to see the deeper, “second-day” analyses from the law firms that serve... Read More
BY Fred Barstein | 3/19/2014
To help out the SEC with the low percentage of RIA examinations, fi360 is offering to use its CEFEX process to increase the number of members that are reviewed. Though the SEC’s budget request to... Read More
BY John Iekel | 3/13/2014
Saying that she is troubled by 401(k) providers that are circumventing the 408(b)(2) fee disclosure rule’s demands, EBSA’s Phyllis Borzi warned providers March 11 that they need to do a better job at... Read More
BY Craig Hoffman | 3/12/2014
The Department of Labor released its long-promised proposal to require that a guide or summary accompany a covered service provider’s 408(b)2) disclosures on March 11. The final 408(b)(2) regulations... Read More
BY Fred Barstein | 3/10/2014
An RIA association thinks that FINRA is going to make a play to oversee investment advisers, calling the effort “inevitable” but not “imminent.” Driven by a shrinking brokerage industry and lower... Read More
BY Fred Barstein | 3/3/2014
According to a report in CFO Daily News, the average fine resulting from a DOL audit has risen fourfold in just four years, and now tops $600,000. In addition, 88 people including corporate officers... Read More
BY John Iekel | 2/19/2014
If they have not already, small businesses with retirement plans must report on them to the IRS soon. To help, the IRS has updated its Publication 560, “Retirement Plans for Small Business Plans” for... Read More
BY Fred Barstein | 1/28/2014
The DOL announced a settlement Jan. 27 with Western Asset Management, resolving a case in which the firm was alleged to have purchased securities for ERISA plans that were prohibited. The firm was... Read More
BY John Iekel | 1/25/2014
The Form 5500 provides much more than simple data about a plan’s assets and number of participants — it also shows what a plan is not doing. Or doing erroneously. The IRS examined 50 Forms 5500 filed... Read More
BY Fred Barstein | 1/10/2014
Never been examined by the SEC? Get ready. In a recent announcement of its 2014 priorities, the 4,000 or so advisors who have never been examined by the agency are in its crosshairs. Most new ones,... Read More
BY John Ortman | 1/2/2014
Labor Secretary Tom Perez has been lobbying Democrats in Congress lately, advocating for the redefinition of fiduciary rule (now referred to as the “conflict of interest rule” by DOL officials)... Read More
BY John Ortman | 12/23/2013
As everyone in the retirement industry knows, retirement plan participants are inundated by a deluge of disclosures required by multiple reporting requirements set by a variety of government agencies... Read More
BY John Iekel | 12/18/2013
A week after the IRS issued new rules for in-plan Roth rollovers in IRS Notice 2013-74, commentary on what that guidance means for advisors and their clients is beginning to appear. Sidley Austin LLP... Read More
BY Ronald J. Triche | 12/13/2013
According to the recently released fall 2013 Statement of Regulatory Priorities, the Department of Labor intends to reissue its definition of fiduciary regulation in August 2014. Originally issued in... Read More
BY John Iekel | 12/12/2013
Conducting in-plan Roth rollovers may be smoother thanks to IRS guidance issued Dec. 11. Under IRS Notice 2013-74, these contributions and earnings on them can be rolled over into a designated Roth... Read More
BY NAPA Net Staff | 11/26/2013
Drinker Biddle’s Oct. 1 webcast, “Surviving DOL Investigations of Plans,” raised so many questions that the firm’s employee benefits group will present a follow-up webcast, “Surviving DOL... Read More
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