On the heels of a probe by the Securities and Exchange Commission, the U.S. Department of Labor‘s Employee Benefits Security Administration may launch an investigation of its own of pension consultants to determine whether they have engaged in any activity that would compromise their objectivity when advising clients. According to Investment & Pensions Europe, the Labor Department is currently reviewing documents it received from the SEC probe, which began last May, for possible violations involving disclosure of fees, revenue-sharing arrangements and possible conflicts of interest, after which it will determine whether to start its own probe of the pension consultant industry.
