The ERISA Advisory Council will hold on open meeting (October 30-31) to finalize recommendations to the Secretary of Labor regarding the following issues: disability benefits for participants in defined contribution plans, current challenges and best practices concerning beneficiary designations in retirement and life insurance plans, and examining income replacement during retirement years in a defined contribution plan system.

The CFTC has issued the attached interpretative guidance letter to asset-backed securities funds. The guidance states that securitization funds which meet certain criteria are not included within the definition of "commodity pool" and their operators are not "commodity pool operators" under the Commodity Exchange Act and the CFTC's regulations. The relevant criteria include: The issuer of the asset-backed securities is operated consistently time with the conditions set forth in Regulation AB, or Rule 3a-7, whether or not the issuer's security offerings are in fact regulated pursuant to either

FINRA announced that it had fined a broker-dealer $800,000 for failing to supervise two collateralized debt obligation (CDO) traders who engaged in activities to hide a trading loss. FINRA found that the firm had failed to review the CDO Desk's trades, documentation of the traders, and the traders' emails. View news release here(links externally to FINRA website).

The NFA issued an updated version of its Self-Examination Questionnaire that NFA member firms, including FCMs, IBs, CPOs and CTAs, are required to complete on an annual basis. The Self-Examination Questionnaire includes a general questionnaire that must be completed by all NFA member firms and supplemental questionnaires tailored to the business activities of the various categories of NFA members (FCMs, FDMs, IBs, CPOs and CTAs). The Self-Examination Questionnaire is intended to assist NFA member firms in recognizing potential problem areas, and to alert firms to procedures that need to be

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) published a final rule in the Federal Register on October 9 that revises the requirements imposed on U.S. banks and federal branches of foreign banks pursuant to the short-term investment fund (STIF) rule. A STIF is a form of collective investment fund (CIF) that may be established and managed by a national bank (or a federal branch) under its fiduciary authority. Unlike other forms of CIFs, a STIF is valued based on the amortized cost of its assets rather than based on mark-to-market basis.The final rule adds safeguards designed to address