Pension Risk Matters : Pension Risk News & Analysis : Investment Governance, Inc. : Pension Risk & Investment

According to a March 30, 2011 regulatory update from attorneys at Goodwin Procter, ERISA litigation may increase as the result of U.S. Department of Labor ("DOL") efforts. Click to access "Regulatory Update - DOL Initiatives Potentially Affecting ERISA Litigation."

For one thing, should the definition of fiduciary be expanded, more persons will have potential liability. The pushback from various segments of the financial services industry has been considerable, leading to an extension of the time allowed for official comments through April 12, 2011.

A second hurdle to overcome emphasizes disclosure and takes the form of a final rule that goes into effect for plan years that start on or after November 1, 2011. Specifically, plan participants who are allowed to self-direct their investments must now be given granular performance and fee information about "designated investment alternatives," including identification of asset managers and arrangements and restrictions on brokerage accounts and participants' flexibility (or lack thereof) to give orders.

A third new item on the growing ERISA compliance checklist, if adopted by the DOL, will force service providers to submit a written statement of what services it will offer to the retirement plan(s) and copious data about how it expects to be indirectly and directly compensated.

I concur with the authors that more rules likely beget more lawsuits. Part of the current ills that the DOL seeks to cure is to make sure that a sufficient quantity and quality of information is available to decision-makers.

Clearly, more and better datapoints can be helpful. Absent an inflow of information, what are decision-makers doing now to properly carry out their fiduciary duties? Understanding what is or is not being conveyed as billions of dollars are committed is of significant import in terms of good process.

Note to Readers:

• Click to read the 469 page transcript of March 1, 2011 testimony on the topic of an expanded definition of ERISA fiduciary.
• Click to read the 387 page transcript of March 2, 2011 testimony on the topic of an expanded definition of ERISA fiduciary.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

For those in need of help, click to access the "Troubleshooter's Guide to Filing the ERISA Annual Report" (U.S. Department of Labor, October 2010). This 70-page publication includes a handy reference chart that relates to the Form 5500 and Form 5500-SF (for small firms), along with related attachments. Another helpful resource is "FAQs About The 2009 Form 5500 Schedule C."

School's still out regarding the extent to which plan sponsors will be able to comply with new rules. So far, Schedule C seems to be a sticking point with numerous questions being asked about how to properly report "indirect" versus "direct" compensation to service providers.

As more pension plans allocate monies to mutual funds, hedge funds, private equity funds and funds of funds, they will need to report details about fees paid to these organizations as they too are now deemed service providers.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

According to Attorney Fred  Reish, Managing Director at Reish & Reicher, the "word on the street" is that the new 408(b)(2) regulation - sent from the U.S. Department of Labor to the Office of Management and Budget on March 3 - will be an "interim final regulation and will have a delayed effective date." He adds that "effective" refers to the date on which people must begin complying with its terms. ERISA attorney Reish adds that:

My sense is that the delayed effective date will be somewhere between January 1, 2011 and 12 months after the regulation is issued. However, that is just a guess. That effective date would probably apply only to new plan clients. That is, there would probably be a transition period for existing  plan clients. Also, it is not yet clear whether the regulation will apply to individual retirement accounts, but it could."

For background on this important disclosure rule, see "The DOL's Proposed 408(b)(2) Regulation: Impact of the Mandated Disclosures on Registered Investment Advisers (RIAs)" by Fred Reish, Bruce Ashton and Debra Davis (February 2008).

Also see "Private Pensions: Additional Changes Could Improve Employee Benefit Plan Financial Reporting" (United States Government Accountability Office, December 2009).

I will post further information about fees paid to plan service providers in coming weeks.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

With so many companies in the red when it comes to defined benefit plans, a green light from the U.S. Department of Labor to consider liabilities when making investing decisions is a big deal.

That's why over one hundred pension fiduciaries have signed up for a Financial Research Associates, LLC conference about liability-driven investing. Chaired by Dr. Susan M. Mangiero, CFA and Accredited Investment Fiduciary Analyst, the event promises to be timely and informative. Following the conference is a workshop entitled "Derivatives in an LDI Framework".

Led by Dr. Mangiero, founder of Pension Governance, LLC and Managing Member with BVA, LLC and Mr. Gavin Watson, Business Manager with the RiskMetrics Group, workshop attendees will hear about the following topics.

1. Identifying Liability-Driven Objectives and Alternative Solutions

2. Derivative Instrument Strategies

3. Modeling and Valuation Issues

Despite the many challenges of managing pension risk, fiduciaries now have some concrete solution possibilities to consider.

Editor's Note:
I'll return in a few days with much more (!) to say about LDI.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link