Regulation

The SPARK Institute has released draft guidelines that help 403(b) retirement plans comply with new regulations, including Form 5500.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has announced the Fair Fund distribution of approximately $418 million to more than a million investors who were harmed by market timing activities in certain Invesco mutual funds managed by Invesco Funds Group, Inc.

Thirty years after the Securities and Exchange Commission allowed an exemption to help mutual funds pay for promotional sales and marketing expenses, the agency is once again considering revising or renaming these controversial charges, known as 12b-1 fees.

The House passed a regulatory reform bill 223 to 202 on Friday that would significantly reshape the financial framework.

The House of Representatives refused to give rule-making authority over many investment advisory firms to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.

The Insured Retirement Institute is applauding the confirmation from Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Mary Schapiro that her staff is developing a variable annuity summary prospectus. IRI has long called for—and officially petitioned—the SEC to develop such a document to advance the interests of the investing public, and to reduce the burden placed on its members, which includes insurers, to produce lengthy documents that consumers traditionally ignore because of their complexity.

U.S. Senators Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), Johnny Isakson (R-GA) and Herb Kohl (D-WI) have introduced a bill aimed at helping Americans save enough so that they will not be in danger of outliving their retirement savings.

While it may be too late for the Securities and Exchange Commission to pass any new regulations before the end of the year, financial experts anticipate major financial legislation and regulation to occur sometime in early 2010.

A group of Democratic lawmakers has introduced legislation that would impose a tax on Wall Street securities transactions.

The House’s decision to extend the current estate tax rate did not come as a surprise to industry observers, who never believed the government would allow the tax to expire altogether and give up the much needed revenue.