More than a year after the SEC released its report regarding potential conflicts of interest within the pension consulting industry, the US Department of Labor has launched its own investigation.
While reports of the investigation are just surfacing, Wilshire Associates reported that it has received a subpoena requesting information on its consulting business practices and it is cooperating fully.
There are also reports that the DOL is looking into Mercer as well, according to its parent company, Marsh and McLennan’s annual report, filed with the SEC, which stated that the organization ahd been subpoenaed for “documents pertaining to services provided by MMC subsidiaries to employee benefit plans, including, but not limited to documents relating to how such subsidiaries have been compensated for such services.”
As the DOL has jurisdiction over corporate pensions that are governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, the agency’s investigation appears to be similar to that of the SEC’s 18-month look into conflicts of interest at 24 investment consultants, which resulted in a seven-page report last May. After the report, the SEC and DOL jointly issued a set of guidelines for plan sponsors to use when determining whether their consultants may face conflicts of interest.