Summary Prospectus
Rev. 12/04/09; E-mail Alert 2009-19

Summary Prospectus and ERISA 404(c)
On September 8, 2009, the DOL issued Field Assistance Bulletin (FAB) 2009-3 addressing the delivery of a Summary Prospectus to satisfy obligations under ERISA Section 404(c) regulations. The FAB describes the circumstances in which a participant-directed individual account plan may satisfy the prospectus delivery requirements of Section 404(c) by providing a Summary Prospectus.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued Summary Prospectus requirements under the new Rule 498 of the Securities Act (the Act) for satisfying mutual fund prospectus delivery requirements on January 26, 2009. These enhanced mutual fund disclosure rules satisfy the requirements of Section 5(b)(2) of the Act, and replace the mutual fund Profile that was previously described under the former Rule 498 of the Act. In Advisory Opinion 2003-11A, the DOL approved the use of the mutual fund Profile to satisfy ERISA’s 404(c) compliance requirements based on the requirements of ERISA 404(c) and the former Rule 498. The DOL believes the delivery of a Summary Prospectus, both automatically and upon request, by an identified plan fiduciary or designee to plan participants or beneficiaries satisfies the prospectus delivery requirement of ERISA 404(c).

The Summary Prospectus is a short-form document, written in plain English in a clear and concise format, and its required contents provide a summary of key information about a mutual fund that is useful to participants and beneficiaries in evaluating and comparing their plan investment options.  It must include at the beginning or on the cover page the mutual fund’s name, the share classes to which the Summary Prospectus relates, the ticker symbol for each such class, and a required legend containing a Web site address, the approximate date of the Summary Prospectus’ first use, e-mail address, and toll-free telephone number where investors may obtain the statutory prospectus and other information free of charge. In addition, the Summary Prospectus must contain the key information required to appear at the beginning of the statutory prospectus under the new rules, including information regarding the investment objectives or goals of the fund, fee and expense information, principal investment strategies, the risks associated with an investment in the fund, fund performance, investment advisers and sub-advisers, portfolio managers, purchase and sale of fund shares, tax information, and financial intermediary compensation.

The FAB did not contain an effective date; thus, as the SEC change was in January of 2009, plans should begin complying with ERISA 404(c) prospectus delivery requirements by using the Summary Prospectus immediately.

Bill Grossman, ERPA, QPA