Standard & Poor’s Retirement Services received an administrative prohibited transaction exemption from the U.S. Department of Labor permitting it to give defined contribution plan participants investment advice.
Standard & Poor’s sought the exemption because it works with defined contribution plan service providers that often sponsor and receive fees from investments offered in the plans. There was a question as to whether Standard & Poor’s contracts with these service providers would result in prohibited transactions.
The exemption ‘‘will provide an extra level of comfort to 401(k) plan sponsors and other fiduciaries that our contractual agreements will not result in a prohibited transaction under ERISA,’’ said Sanford Bragg, executive managing director of Standard & Poor’s Fund Services.
