SEC Staff Examination Priorities - Are There Changes Ahead for Unregistered Plan Recordkeepers

The Issue

The Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") staff recently has been focusing increasing attention on the various arrangements that mutual funds, and/ or their direct service provider (collectively, "Fund Complexes") enter into in with third-parties to provide certain services to the Fund Complex related to shareholder servicing. While the SEC staff 's interest is not focused solely on retirement plan recordkeepers ("Recordkeepers"), the SEC staff has indicated that they are concerned with, among other things, the nature of the services provided in these arrangements, and the nature and amount of the compensation paid for these services. In each of these points of emphasis, the SEC staff has, either explicitly or implicitly, called into question whether Recordkeepers that are not registered with the SEC in some capacity should be registered as either broker-dealers or transfer agents.