DOL Releases Proposed Amendment to QPAM Exemption

The Department of Labor has announced a proposed amendment to the Class Prohibited Transaction Exemption 84-14, also known as the Qualified Professional Asset Manager (QPAM) Exemption. According to a DOL news release, the proposed amendment expands the types of misconduct that disqualify plan asset managers from using the exemption by

• Addressing perceived ambiguity as to whether foreign convictions are included in the scope of the exemption’s ineligibility provision.
• Expanding the ineligibility provision to include additional types of serious misconduct.
• Focusing on mitigating potential costs and disruption to plans and IRAs when a QPAM becomes ineligible due to a conviction or participates in other serious misconduct.
• Updating asset management and equity thresholds in the definition of “Qualified Professional Asset Manager.”
• Adding a standard recordkeeping requirement that the exemption currently lacks.
• Clarifying the requisite independence and control that a QPAM must have with respect to investment decisions and transactions.

Written comments and requests for a public hearing must be submitted to the DOL within 60 days after publication in the Federal Register.