Products September 21, 2017

Wagner Aims to Fill Void Left by DLP

With the determination letter program gone, Wagner Law Group is helping plan sponsors remain compliant with the IRS.
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Following the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS)’s elimination of its determination letter program for tax-qualified retirement plans, The Wagner Law Group developed its Private Determination Letter Program (PDLP) to assist plan sponsors.

For decades, the IRS’s letter guided sponsors and helped them make sure they met tax-qualification requirements as the laws and regulations governing tax-qualified plans changed. The PDLP aims to address plan sponsors’ concerns that their plan documents remain compliant with the law as it evolves.

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The Wagner Law Group notes that several document providers have announced they will no longer maintain custom plan documents, including their own. Such providers will cease offering operational, statutory and/or regulatory amendments for the plan documents they previously maintained.

The Wagner Law Group says its attorneys can prepare legally-compliant plan documents and appropriate amendments to reflect applicable changes to the law. The firm can also review plans under the PDLP and confirm that design changes made to a plan meet all requirements under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), the firm says.

The Wagner Law Group extends these services to plan sponsors including for-profit, tax-exempt and government entities who administrate 401(k) plans, profit sharing plans, defined benefit (DB) pension plans, money purchase pension plans, cash balance plans and employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs).

Since the determination letter program was abandoned, several firms including Trucker Huss and Groom Law Group have offered support. Still, there are several points plan sponsors should consider when deciding what to do in the absence of determination letters.

For more information concerning The Wagner Law Group’s qualified plan services, visit www.wagnerlawgroup.com.

The Markets September 21, 2017

More Advisers Using Closed-End Funds

The top two reasons include the attractive yield and return on investment as well as helping clients generate more income in their portfolios.
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Overall closed-end fund (CEF) usage has increased significantly since 2013, according to a study focused on financial advisers and their use of CEFs released by Nuveen, the investment management arm of TIAA.

Nearly two-thirds of advisers (62%) currently use CEFs in client portfolios—up from roughly half (51%) in 2013. Closed-end funds remain an attractive investment option as financial advisers are reportedly recommending the funds to clients seeking income and diversification opportunities for income portfolios.

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“Income investors have been on the hunt for yield for years,” says Anne Kritzmire, managing director of closed-end funds at Nuveen. “Many of these investors and their advisers are finding that closed-end funds can fulfill their need for both income potential and the opportunity to receive cash flow from non-traditional or less liquid strategies, such as alternatives or real assets.”

Of those advisers who reported increasing CEF usage over the past year, the top two reasons include the attractive yield and return on investment as well as helping clients generate more income in their portfolios.

Overall, income producing investments remain in high demand, with nine out of 10 advisers (91%) saying clients ask about income producing investments—such as CEFs and other fund types. Increasing income remains the top reason for using CEFs in investment portfolios, according to 62% of the financial advisers surveyed who use CEFs. When looking for new sources of income, more than half (57%) of all advisers recommend CEFs as an investment option.

The study, also conducted in 2013 and 2016 by Dubick & Associates, included a weighted statistically valid sample of 326 financial advisers from wirehouses, regional broker/dealers, independent broker/dealers, registered investment advisers, bank and insurance companies. The 2017 study was fielded from April 27 to May 11.

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