Securities Litigation

On April 6, 2016, the U.S. Department of Labor ("DOL") issued its final rule expanding the definition of the "investment advice fiduciary" under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 ("ERISA") and modifying the exemptions for investment activities. The new rule will be phased in starting in April 2017, and it is anticipated to draw battles over its expansion of the circumstances under which providing investment advice could give rise to a fiduciary duty. Specifically, by expanding the definition of a fiduciary, the rule casts a wide net in assigning fiduciary ...