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Course Details

Course Information
  • smart_display Format

    On-Demand

  • signal_cellular_alt Difficulty Level

  • work Practice Area

    ERISA

Date & Time
  • event Date

    Wednesday, October 28, 2020

  • schedule Time

    1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT

  • timer Program Length

    90 minutes

Credit Information

  • This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.

$347.00
CLE
ALL

This CLE course will guide ERISA counsel and advisers on critical challenges and ramifications of the applicable rules for fiduciaries and new revisions from the Department of Labor (DOL). The panel will discuss new standards, essential steps for counsel and advisers, significant responsibilities faced by asset managers, plan providers and sponsors, challenges in constructing a new compliance program under ERISA, and methods in maintaining compliance moving forward.

Faculty

Steven W. Rabitz
Partner
Dechert LLP

Mr. Rabitz focuses his practice on the fiduciary responsibility, prohibited transaction and funding rules of ERISA, specifically how they relate to financial products and services, U.S. Federal income tax, securities and other legal matters concerning compensation and benefits. In addition, he assists clients on how ERISA rules are applicable to the design, implementation and ongoing operation of retirement and health benefits.

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David C. Olstein
Partner
Hogan Lovells

Mr. Olstein’s practice focuses on the fiduciary responsibility provisions of ERISA and the prohibited transaction excise tax provisions of the Internal Revenue Code. He has an extensive background advising financial institutions, plan sponsors, and investment committees on ERISA matters, including compliance with ERISA’s fiduciary duty and prohibited transaction rules, in connection with the investment of pension plan assets. Mr. Olstein regularly advises fund sponsors on the application of ERISA’s “plan asset” rules as they relate to the establishment and operation of private investment funds. From representing issuers and underwriters in connection with marketing securities to investors, to advising plan sponsors and independent fiduciaries in connection with the selection of annuity providers, he offers substantial experience at the intersection of ERISA and fiduciary responsibility. Mr. Olstein is an active member of the American Bar Association’s Section of Taxation and the New York City Bar Associati

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Jeffrey A. Lieberman
Counsel
Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP

Mr. Lieberman has more than 25 years of experience advising a broad range of clients on ERISA, employee benefits, and executive compensation matters, including counseling on the design and operation of compensation and benefit arrangements and on issues under IRS Code Sections 280G, 162(m), 409A, and 457A; advising on employee benefits and ERISA issues in M&As and other corporate transactions; advising on plan compliance, corporate governance, and reporting matters; and providing support for ERISA controversies and litigation.

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Description

The duties and restrictions applicable to fiduciaries under ERISA and the Internal Revenue Code can significantly impact investment advisers, broker-dealers, insurance agents, and other service providers who receive compensation in connection with the recommendation of investments to employee benefits plans and IRAs. ERISA counsel and advisers must understand the rules for determining fiduciary status under ERISA and the Internal Revenue Code and the prohibited transaction rules and exemptions that apply to the compensation of service providers who furnish investment advice.

A prohibited transaction class exemption recently proposed by the DOL would impose “impartial conduct standards” on certain fiduciaries providing investment advice to ERISA plans and IRAs who rely on the exemption for the receipt of commissions and other transaction-based compensation. ERISA counsel and advisers must understand the scope of and conditions for relief under the proposed class exemption, alternative prohibited transaction compliance strategies available to service providers, and the differences between the impartial conduct standards and the standards of conduct imposed under federal and state securities laws.

David C. Olstein, Partner at Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP; Jeffrey A. Lieberman, Counsel at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP; and Steven W. Rabitz, Partner at Dechert LLP, will guide ERISA counsel and advisers on critical challenges and ramifications of the applicable rules for investment advice fiduciaries and new revisions from the DOL. The panel will discuss new standards, essential steps for counsel and advisers, significant responsibilities faced by asset managers, plan providers and sponsors, challenges in constructing a new compliance program under ERISA, and methods in maintaining compliance moving forward.

Outline

  1. New DOL standards and proposed revisions
  2. Considerations for asset managers, plan sponsors, and providers after vacatur of the final rule
  3. ERISA five-factor fiduciary test and exemptions
  4. Prohibited transaction considerations
  5. SEC best interest standards
  6. Best practices for plan sponsors and advisers to comply with federal and state rules

Benefits

The panel will review these and other key issues:

  • The reinstatement of the five-part test for determining investment advice fiduciary status
  • The DOL’s evolving position on rollover advice
  • The scope of and conditions for relief under the proposed class exemption
  • Key differences between the proposed exemption and PTE 2016-1
  • Considerations for plan sponsors and service providers moving forward
  • SEC best interest standards
  • State fiduciary rule initiatives
  • Overcoming administrative challenges to enacting new compliance programs