The U.S. Department of Labor today made available a proposed rule that would address the application of the prudence and exclusive purpose duties under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) with respect to proxy voting and exercises of other shareholder rights. The proposed rule amends the Department's longstanding “Investment duties” regulation at 29 CFR 2550.404a-1.

The DOL is concerned that some fiduciaries and proxy advisory firms may be acting in ways that unwittingly allow plan assets to be used to support or pursue proxy proposals for environmental, social, or public policy agendas that have no connection to increasing the value of investments used for the payment of benefits or plan administrative expenses, and in fact may have unnecessarily increased plan expenses

The Department has issued sub-regulatory guidance and individual letters over the years affirming that, in voting proxies and in exercising other shareholder rights, plan fiduciaries must consider factors that may affect the value of the plan's investment and not subordinate the interest of participants and beneficiaries in their retirement income to unrelated objectives. The Department believes, however, that aspects of the guidance and letters may have led to some confusion or misunderstandings. The proposal is designed to address those issues through a notice and comment rulemaking process that will build a public record to help the Department develop an improved investment duties regulation with the goal of ensuring plan fiduciaries execute their ERISA duties in an appropriate and cost-efficient manner when exercising shareholder rights.

According to a DOL official, the proposal would clarify Employee Retirement Income Security Act fiduciary duties for proxy voting and monitoring proxy advisory firms.  In addition, the proposed rule would reduce plan expenses by giving fiduciaries clear directions to refrain from spending workers' retirement savings to research and vote on matters that are not expected to have an economic impact on the plan.

The proposal includes provisions that would articulate general duties requiring fiduciaries to vote any proxy where the fiduciary prudently determines that the matter being voted upon would have an economic impact on the plan. It also prohibits fiduciaries from voting any proxy unless the fiduciary prudently determines that the matter has an economic impact on the plan. To assist fiduciaries to comply with these duties, the proposal also sets forth “permitted practices” under which the plan fiduciary can adopt certain proxy voting policies and parameters reasonably designed to serve the plan's economic interest.

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