| The
Administration supports House passage of H.R. 2269, which would help
American workers to better manage their retirement savings by expanding
the availability of investment advice. This bill also would place
advisers who have affiliations with investment products on a more
equal footing with non-affiliated advisers, foster competition among
firms, and promote lower costs to participants. We must trust Americans
to manage their own money. Given the necessary tools, everyone may
become an owner of the American Dream.
Presently,
the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) generally impedes
employers from obtaining investment advice for their employees from
the financial institutions that often are in the best position to
provide advice. H.R. 2269 would address this by affording certain
plan participants access to advice from fiduciary advisers, who
are regulated by Federal or State authorities. As fiduciaries under
ERISA, these advisers would be held to the standard of conduct currently
required by ERISA. H.R. 2269 also would add important protections
to ERISA, by providing information to participants about fees, relationships
that may raise potential conflicts of interest, and limitations
on the scope of advice to be provided. These and other provisions
in the bill would create a framework that will assure that advice
is broadly available and fairly provided.
|