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20 01, 2017

Labor Department Restates Fiduciary Voting, ESG Considerations

2017-01-20T19:04:12-08:00January 20th, 2017|Categories: ESG|Tags: |

Apparently concerned that its previous guidance on the matter of social investing hadn’t been sufficient to overcome fiduciary resistance, the Labor Department has issued new guidance on the matter. The guidance was broader than that, of course – the DOL’s “Interpretive Bulletin Relating to the Exercise of Shareholder Rights and Written Statements of Investment Policy, including Proxy Voting Policies or Guidelines” was intended to clarify the agency’s “longstanding position is that the fiduciary act of managing plan assets which [...]

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20 01, 2017

New Guidance Restores 1994 ERISA Proxy Voting Interpretation

2017-01-20T18:54:39-08:00January 20th, 2017|Categories: ERISA, ESG|Tags: , |

The DOL bulletin also clarifies the ability to consider ESG factors in proxy voting and shareholder engagement. On December 29, 2016, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued Interpretive Bulletin 2016-1 (IB 2016-1), addressing how the Employee Retirement Income Security Act’s (ERISA’s) fiduciary responsibility rules apply to proxy voting, maintenance and compliance with investment policy statements, and active engagement with corporate management by plan fiduciaries, as well as other legal rights of shareholders. […]

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21 01, 2016

DC Plan Stats Show Effect of PPA

2016-01-21T23:17:20-08:00January 21st, 2016|Categories: Pension Reform|Tags: , |

The 2006 Pension Protection Act (PPA) and the Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) fee disclosure requirements issued in 2011 and 2012 tied as the top-ranking event influencing the management of defined contribution (DC) plans, according to Callan’s 2016 Defined Contribution Trends report. The PPA set the stage for wide adoption of automatic features in DC plans and made Roth contributions permanently available for DC plan participants, among other things. Callan says the influence of the PPA has resulted in 61% [...]

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8 06, 2015

Department Of Labor Issues Final Regulations On Annual Funding Notices

2015-06-08T20:37:16-07:00June 8th, 2015|Categories: ERISA|Tags: , , |

The Employee Benefits Security Administration of the Department of Labor (hereinafter, the “DOL”) recently released final regulations related to the provision of annual funding notices under Section 101(f) of ERISA. The regulations finalize the proposed regulations on annual funding notices but do not address some of the additional intervening guidance on annual funding notices released after the proposed regulations and before these final regulations. Background Prior to the passage of the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (“PPA”) multiemployer defined [...]

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19 03, 2014

Multiple employer plans grabbing more attention

2014-03-19T21:52:44-07:00March 19th, 2014|Categories: Retirement|Tags: , , |

A concerted effort in Washington to get more employers to offer retirement plans has raised the profile of multiple employer plans, a largely untapped market for institutional money managers and other service providers. Unlike multiemployer plans, which serve employers in a specific industry and are typically collectively bargained and managed, a multiple employer plan is adopted by two or more unrelated employers that do not want the administrative burdens and fiduciary responsibilities of sponsoring a plan themselves. The three [...]

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