Uncle Sam Wants You ... To Get a Fiduciary Advisor Audit
San Diego is hopping with over three hundred financial professionals attending the FI360 Annual Conference. Topics on the agenda include fiduciary requirements in the aftermath of the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA), trends in fiduciary liability insurance claims, prudent investment fiduciary practices and 401(k) plan economics.
One item in particular - the PPA-required audit of "eligible investment advice arrangements" (EIAA) - is taking center stage. By definition, an EIAA is "an arrangement that, among other things, provides that any fees (including any commission or other compensation) received by the fiduciary adviser for investment advice or with respect to the sale, holding, or acquisition of any security or other property for purposes of investment of plan assets do not vary depending on the basis of any investment option selected." Click here to read Field Assistance Bulletin No. 2007-01 (U.S. Department of Labor - February 2, 2007).
In response, the Centre for Fiduciary Excellence just announced an audit and certification program to ‘fiduciary advisers’ as defined by the PPA, "who intend to serve in EIAA’s. The fiduciary adviser certification program is supplemental to the existing CEFEX Investment Advisor Certification based on the fiduciary practices published by Fiduciary360 of Sewickley, PA. These practices are defined in the Fiduciary 360 publication "Prudent Practices for Investment Advisors" which was reviewed by Reish, Luftman Reicher & Cohen of Los Angeles, CA, and edited by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA)."
Read more by opening the press release file.
PG Editor's Note: The Centre for Fiduciary Excellence and the Foundation for Fiduciary Studies (and its affiliate, FI360) are partners with Pension Governance, LLC (owner of this blog). We all agree on a similar mission - to empower plan sponsors and their vendors and agents by providing educational information about fiduciary investment issues and promoting transparency about investment fiduciary practices. Click here to learn more about all of our partners.
