The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (“Dodd-Frank”) requires that swap transactions go through a clearing process. Market participants, including retirement plans, traditionally involved in swap transactions were reluctant to begin working on compliance with these requirements due to the lack of any guidance from the Department of Labor (“DOL”) on the fiduciary status of certain parties involved in the clearing process as well as the “plan asset” status of amounts held in margin accounts as a part of this process.
On February 7, 2013, the DOL issued Advisory Opinion 2013-01A (“Opinion”) that provides clarification as to the following issues involving swap transactions:
