DEPARTMENT OF LABOR PROPOSES RULE TO EXPAND THE DEFINITION OF “FIDUCIARY” UNDER ERISA

On October 21, 2010, in an effort to further protect employee benefit plan participants and beneficiaries, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration announced a proposed rule to expand the definition of “fiduciary” under ERISA. Specifically, the proposed rule would more broadly define 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.

ERISA Section 504 imposes a number of duties on plan fiduciaries, including a duty of undivided loyalty, a duty to act for the exclusive purposes of providing plan benefits and defraying reasonable expenses of administering the plan, and a duty of care grounded in the prudent man standard. Despite the care taken to protect plan participants from poor fiduciary conduct, the definition of “fiduciary” has been left unchanged since ERISA’s enactment in 1975. And given the significant changes to employee benefit plans, the financial industry and the expectations of plan participants, the Department of Labor recognizes that the current definition of “fiduciary” may inappropriately limit the types of investment advisory relationships that give rise to fiduciary duties on the part of the investment advisor. Indeed, the Department of Labor noted in the new proposed rule that since 1975:

the retirement plan community has changed significantly, with a shift from defined benefit (DB) plans to defined contribution (DC) plans. The financial marketplace also has changed significantly, and the types and complexity of investment products and services available to plans have increased. With the resulting changes in plan investment practices, and relationships between advisers and their plan clients, the Department [of Labor] believes there is a need to re-examine the types of advisory relationships that should give rise to fiduciary duties on the part of those providing advisory services.

The proposed rule was published in the Federal Register on October 22, 2010, and written comments on the proposed regulations must be submitted to the Department of Labor on or before January 20, 2011.

A complete copy of the proposed rule can be found here.