One of the key  EBSA National Enforcement Projects is the “Plan Investment Conflicts Project” or PIC project. It is the “next generation” of fiduciary compliance programs that the DOL has developed over the years, with this one building on those past programs which had looked at compensation conflicts, 408(b)(2)  compliance and 404(a)-5 disclosures. It appears to be using standard, plan level investigations to instigate reviews of selected practices of large financial service companies, as opposed to having to open large service provider investigations to get to the answers being sought.  
Continue Reading The DOL’s “Plan Investment Conflicts Project” Is Showing Up In Its Plan Audits: Who Should Be Responsible For Watching the “Black Box”?