Tag Archives: BIC exemption

Advisers and financial institutions that provide fiduciary investment advice have an additional 60 days before having to comply with the final regulations defining who is a fiduciary under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (the “Fiduciary Rule”).  On April 4, 2017, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued a final rule (the “Final Rule”), which delays the applicability date of the Fiduciary Rule until June 9, 2017 and also extends for 60 days the applicability dates of the Best Interest Contract Exemption (the “BIC Exemption”) and the Class Exemption for Principal Transactions in Certain Assets Between Investment Advice Fiduciaries and Employee Benefit Plans and IRA (the “Principal Transaction Exemption” and collectively, the “Exemptions”).  Advisers and financial institutions relying on the Exemptions as of June 9 need only comply with the impartial conduct standards (as explained below), as the remaining conditions of the Exemptions will not become effective until January 1, 2018, if not withdrawn or revised.  The 60-day delay was proposed by the DOL on March 2, 2017, in response to a directive from President Trump to review the Fiduciary Rule (the “President’s Memorandum”), as explained in this article.