[32703]
August 25, 2020 TO: ICI MembersBank, Trust and Retirement Advisory Committee
Broker/Dealer Advisory Committee
Investment Adviser and Broker-Dealer Standards of Conduct Working Group
Investment Advisers Committee
Operations Committee
Pension Committee
Pension Operations Advisory Committee
SEC Rules Committee
Transfer Agent Advisory Committee SUBJECTS: Disclosure
Distribution
Fees and Expenses
Investment Advisers
Operations
Pension RE: DOL Announces September 6 Virtual Hearing on Fiduciary Rulemaking Package
The Department of Labor (DOL) has announced that it will hold a hearing on its recent fiduciary rulemaking package (on “issues attendant to adopting a proposed prohibited transaction exemption on Improving Investment Advice for Workers and Retirees”).[1] The hearing will be held on September 3 and (if necessary) September 4, 2020, beginning at 9 a.m. EDT and will be held virtually. Registration information for those who wish to view the hearing will be available on DOL’s website.[2] Requests to testify at the hearing on the proposed exemption should be submitted to DOL on or before August 28, 2020.
The language used in the notice suggests that DOL does not intend to provide an opportunity for witnesses to simply restate the arguments made in their comment letters. The notice includes the following statements:
The Department has decided to hold a public hearing on this proposed prohibited transaction exemption to provide commenters an opportunity to present material factual issues that cannot be fully explored through written submission.[3]
Outlines should present material factual issues and demonstrate that the proposed testimony is both germane to factual issues needing exploration at the hearing that could not have been submitted in writing, and not duplicative of arguments and factual material previously included in the requestor’s comment letter.[4]
Shannon Salinas
Assistant General Counsel - Retirement Policy
endnotes
[1] The notice is posted at 85 Fed. Reg. 52292 (August 25, 2020), available at https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2020-08-25/pdf/2020-18716.pdf. For information on the rulemaking package, see ICI Memorandum No. 32581, dated July 6, 2020, available at https://www.ici.org/my_ici/memorandum/memo32581. For an overview of ICI’s comments submitted on August 6, 2020 regarding DOL’s proposed exemption, see ICI Memorandum No. 32665, dated August 7, 2020, available at https://www.ici.org/my_ici/memorandum/memo32665.
[2] See www.dol.gov/agencies/ebsa. The registration link is not available as of today, but we expect DOL to post the registration information soon.
[3] 85 Fed. Reg. at 52293.
[4] Id.