Products May 11, 2009

DoL Brings Fiduciary Series to Web

Plan fiduciaries looking for insights about their responsibilities can now get that information from the Labor Department without leaving their desks.
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The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) will sponsor “Getting It Right—Know Your Fiduciary Responsibilities” Webcasts on May 12 and 13, featuring speakers from the Labor Department. The Webcasts are part of the agency’s national fiduciary education campaign to increase awareness and understanding of basic responsibilities associated with operating private-sector retirement plans.

The May 12 Webcast will focus on basic fiduciary responsibilities and prohibited transactions and exemptions under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). The May 13 Webcast will include information about the reporting and disclosure provisions of ERISA and the department’s voluntary correction programs. Both Webcasts are scheduled to run from noon to 2 p.m. EDT.

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In addition to the presentations and questions and answers, related guidance, publications, and tools will be provided online. Archives of both Webcasts will be available at the same Web site by May 18.

The event is open to employers, plan fiduciaries, and providers of plan services. Registration is required and available on a first-come, first-served basis. Register for both Webcasts at www.dol.gov/ebsa, under Compliance Workshops, Seminars and Webcasts, or click here.

 

Deals & People May 11, 2009

Barclays Still Entertaining Suitors for iShares

Barclays Plc and CVC Capital Partners may have already agreed to a $4.4-billion deal for Barclays’ iShares funds business, but Barclays apparently is still entertaining offers, according to Reuters.
Reported by

A Reuters news report said the April 9 agreement gave Barclays the right to keep looking for suitors for its iShares business despite the bid from CVC, a private equity firm, until June 18 (see “CVC Capital Partners Wins Barclays iShares Bid’).

Reuters reported comments from a Barclays spokesman that there had been “tremendous” interest in iShares from “both strategic and private equity” since the CVC deal. The Sunday Times newspaper indicated buyout firm BC Partners has lodged a 3.5-billion-pound bid for iShares.

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The Daily Telegraph said on its Web site Sunday that Barclays has at least two counteroffers for iShares, with private equity groups Apax, BC Partners, and Hellman & Friedman all looking at trumping the CVC proposal.

The Sunday Times said BC Partners’ move was expected to tempt other suitors into the bidding. The Times said other bidders could include trade rivals such as Charles Schwab as well as other buyout firms, such as Colony Capital, the private equity group.

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