Employee Benefits Security Administration October 22, 2010 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This document contains a proposed rule under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) that, upon adoption, would protect beneficiaries of pension plans and individual retirement accounts by more broadly defining the circumstances under which a person is considered to be a ``fiduciary'' by reason of giving investment advice to an employee benefit plan or a plan's participants. The proposal amends a thirty-five year old rule that may inappropriately limit the types of investment advice relationships that give rise to fiduciary duties on the part of the investment advisor. The proposed rule takes account of significant changes in both the financial industry and the expectations of plan officials and participants who receive investment advice; it is designed to protect participants from conflicts of interest and self- dealing by giving a broader and clearer understanding of when persons providing such advice are subject to ERISA's fiduciary standards. For example, the proposed rule would define certain advisers as fiduciaries even if they do not provide advice on a ``regular basis.'' Upon adoption, the proposed rule would affect sponsors, fiduciaries, participants, and beneficiaries of pension plans and individual retirement accounts, as well as providers of investment and investment advice related services to such plans and accounts.