Five money managers affiliated with banks convicted of currency price fixing have received one-year, temporary exemptions to continue serving retirement fund clients, according to a Department of Labor notice in the online version of the Federal Register on Wednesday.
Such exemptions, known as qualified professional asset managers, are required whenever a money manager's affiliates or parent is convicted on criminal charges. Labor Department officials are still reviewing related applications for five-year exemptions.
The DOL proposed granting the exemptions for money management units of Deutsche Bank, Citigroup, Barclays Capital, J.P. Morgan Chase and UBS, under certain conditions, on Nov. 21, and invited public comment. No requests for public hearings were received and the money managers were the only ones to comment.
The DOL said in the notice that the temporary exemptions were granted because the exemption is administratively feasible, in the interests of plans served by the money managers and “protective of the rights of the participants and beneficiaries” of those plans.
The conditions set in the one-year exemptions include informing within six months all ERISA-covered plans and IRAs receiving discretionary fiduciary services about the terms of the one-year exemption agreements, hiring independent auditors, and developing training programs for all relevant defined benefit QPAM asset/portfolio management, trading, legal, compliance and internal audit personnel at least annually.
The notice will be published in the Federal Register on Thursday.
