Key Regulatory Issues

The Department of Labor ("DOL") released "Tips for ERISA Plan Fiduciaries" for Target Date Funds ("TDF") in February 2013.

The Department of Labor (DOL) recently issued proposed amendments to both qualified default investment alternative (QDIA) and participant fee disclosures regarding target-date funds.

The Department of Labor (DOL) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently released their long-awaited Investor Bulletin on Target Date Retirement Funds. The four-page document is designed to provide investors with a better understanding of how target date funds work and the risks associated with them.

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Mary Shapiro and a series of mutual fund industry representatives were among those considering changes in how target date funds are structured and marketed in a Joint Hearing on Target Date Funds held June 18 at the Department of Labor (DOL).

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) will hold a joint hearing June 18 to explore issues relating to target date or lifecycle funds and other similar investment options.

Congress has been examining target date funds after questions arose regarding their performance in the current financial markets when many 2010 target date funds lost money.

The chairman of the Senate Special Committee on Aging has expressed continuing concern over disclosure of asset allocations in popular target date mutual funds in correspondence with the new chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the new Secretary of Labor. Both letters were dated February 24, 2009.