SEC and the DOL Rule: The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a bulletin “reiterating the standards of conduct for broker-dealers and investment advisers when they are making account recommendations to retail investors.” The bulletin “provides staff views on how broker-dealers, investment advisers, and their associated persons can satisfy their obligations to retail investors when making account recommendations.” It notes: “Selection of an account type is a consequential decision for retail investors.  The factors to consider among many include cost, services, taxes, and time horizon. The SEC staff’s views are in alignment with the DOL’s. The discussion in the preamble to PTE 2020-02 requires that the four options available to most participants be considered. Those options are: leave the money in the plan, roll over to an IRA, take a taxable distribution, or transfer the money to the plan of a new employer.  It is important to understand that while the DOL Rule is not a SEC regulation, the requirements to document and analyze recommendations run parallel with SEC conduct standards. Link to the bulletin is below.

Look out for an email outlining the process for Simplicity’s 2022 Annual Compliance Training. All employees must complete the the online courses by August 1, 2022. Log into https://portal.oasisassistant.com/ and select the HUMAN RESOURCES tab. Under TRAINING, click on WEBSITE which will take you to the Paychex/Oasis Skillport eLearning Center. For questions, reach out to Samantha Boehm.