Fiduciary Duty Development
- New Jersey proposed two related bills on January 9, 2018
- The first (Senate No. 735) would require financial advisors to disclose their fiduciary status to investors. Senate No. 735 delineates between “non-fiduciary investment advisors” and advisors subject to a fiduciary duty. Specifically, non-fiduciary investment advisors would have to advise clients—both orally and in writing—that they are not fiduciaries, and thus have no duty to act in the client’s best interests. Any advisors subject to a fiduciary duty would have to let clients know they are subject to a fiduciary duty. Both types of advisors could face a $5,000 fine for failing to disclose this information
- The second (A208) requires disclosures from individuals who administer certain school retirement plans created in accordance with section 403(b) of the Internal Revenue Code
- Specifically A208 requires “person[s] administering annuity retirement plans for teachers to annually disclose fee ratio, return, and fees to each participant.” These disclosures would need to be made both upon enrollment and annually after