ICI comment letter on class exemption Letterhead DRAFT mo…

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February 11, 2008 Filed Electronically Ivan Strasfeld Director, Office of Exemption Determinations Employee Benefits Security Administration Room N-5655 U.S. Department of Labor 200 Constitution Ave, NW Washington, DC 20210 Attn: Plan Fiduciary Class Exemption for Section 408(b)(2) Amendment Dear Director Strasfeld: 1The Investment Company Institute is pleased to comment on the Department’s proposed class exemption for plan fiduciaries for failures associated with the proposed regulation under ERISA 2section 408(b)(2). The exemption is an essential complement to the Department’s 408(b)(2) regulation. We have two suggestions on how the Department could improve the exemption by assuring that it provides sufficient relief. 1. The Department should expand the exemption to cover service providers that serve as conduits of information from other parties. Relief under the proposed class exemption is available only to plan fiduciaries and covers only transactions otherwise prohibited under ERISA section 406(a)(1)(C). No relief is provided to service providers who could be subject to a significant excise tax penalty under Internal Revenue Code section 4975. 1 The Investment Company Institute is the national association of U.S. investment companies, including mutual funds, closed-end funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and unit investment trusts (UITs). ICI seeks to ...

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February 11, 2008

Filed Electronically

Ivan Strasfeld

Director, Office of Exemption Determinations

Employee Benefits Security Administration

Room N-5655

U.S. Department of Labor

200 Constitution Ave, NW

Washington, DC 20210

Attn:

Plan Fiduciary Class Exemption for Section 408(b)(2) Amendment

Dear Director Strasfeld:

The Investment Company Institute

is pleased to comment on the Department’s proposed

class exemption for plan fiduciaries for failures associated with the proposed regulation under ERISA

section 408(b)(2).

The exemption is an essential complement to the Department’s 408(b)(2)

regulation.

We have two suggestions on how the Department could improve the exemption by assuring

that it provides sufficient relief.

The Department should expand the exemption to cover service providers that serve as

conduits of information from other parties.

Relief under the proposed class exemption is available only to plan fiduciaries and covers only

transactions otherwise prohibited under ERISA section 406(a)(1)(C).

No relief is provided to service

providers who could be subject to a significant excise tax penalty under Internal Revenue Code section

4975.

The Investment Company Institute is the national association of U.S. investment companies, including mutual funds,

closed-end funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and unit investment trusts (UITs).

ICI seeks to encourage adherence to

high ethical standards, promote public understanding, and otherwise advance the interests of funds, their shareholders,

directors, and advisers.

Members of ICI manage total assets of $12.68 trillion and serve almost 90 million shareholders.

72 Fed. Reg. 70893 (Dec. 13, 2007).

We are filing comments simultaneously on the associated proposed regulation under

ERISA section 408(b)(2).

Office of Regulations and Interpretations

Plan Fiduciary Class Exemption for Section 408(b)(2) Amendment

Page 2 of 3

The breadth of the proposed regulation may require service providers to serve as conduits of

information from unaffiliated parties.

For example, the text of the regulation could be read to require a

recordkeeper to disclose a payment that an unaffiliated investment option makes to an unaffiliated

consultant hired by plan fiduciaries to assist them in selecting investment options.

As we explain in our

comment letter on the 408(b)(2) proposal, we do not believe the Department intended this result.

The

recordkeeper would be completely unaware of this payment unless the investment provider discloses it.

Similarly, the regulation also may require service providers to be aware of the existence of other

service providers to the plan.

For example, the conflict of interest disclosures, as written, could require

the disclosure of a relationship that a service provider, such as a bank, has with another plan service

provider, such as the plan’s legal counsel, solely because the plan’s legal counsel has a checking account

with the bank.

We expect the Department to clarify the reach of the requirements of the 408(b)(2) regulation

when finalizing the proposal.

If the final rule requires service providers to serve as conduits of

information, or rely on others (including plan fiduciaries) to make the provider aware of other service

providers or relationships the plan has, then the Department must make the relief in the class

exemption available to service providers ensnared in a prohibited transaction despite their reasonable

efforts to comply with the regulation.

We recommend that a service provider be entitled to relief from

Code sections 4975(c)(1)(C) and (D), provided that (1) if the provider knows or has reason to know

that information from another party necessary to satisfy the 408(b)(2) regulation is incomplete, the

provider requests the information in writing, and (2) if the information is not provided to the service

provider within 90 days, the service provider notifies the Department of Labor.

The relief under the proposed class exemption should include ERISA section

406(a)(1)(D).

The proposed class exemption provides relief only from ERISA section 406(a)(1)(C), which

prohibits the furnishing of goods, services, and facilities between a plan and a party in interest.

believe the class exemption also should provide relief from section 406(a)(1)(D), which prohibits the

transfer to, or use by or for the benefit of, a party in interest, of any assets of the plan.

In many cases, if

section 408(b)(2) is not available with respect to a service arrangement, section 406(a)(1)(D) will be

triggered because plan assets were used to compensate the service provider.

Office of Regulations and Interpretations

Plan Fiduciary Class Exemption for Section 408(b)(2) Amendment

Page 3 of 3

Please feel free to contact the undersigned at 202.326.5826 (podesta@ici.org) or Michael

Hadley at 202.326.5810 (mhadley@ici.org) with any questions.

Sincerely,

Mary Podesta

Senior Counsel – Pension Regulation

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