Fiduciary responsibility

Another trend we’re currently witnessing is with regards to the fiduciary responsibilities associated with establishing and maintaining workplace retirement savings plans.  While federal law has imposed fiduciary responsibilities on various parties involved with workplace retirement savings for over 40 years, there has historically been a fair degree of uncertainty concerning the circumstances under which financial organizations (e.g., banks, insurance companies, broker/dealers, trust companies, etc.) and various types of their employees/agents are considered fiduciaries. While it is still uncertain how everything will shake out, there is likely to be significant focus on the topic of fiduciary responsibility during 2016 as the Department of Labor seeks to implement new regulations focused on establishing new, more explicit fiduciary guidelines aimed primarily at the financial services industry.