DOL Finalizes Amendment to INHAM Prohibited Transaction Exemption

The Department of Labor (DOL) recently finalized an amendment to Prohibited Transaction Exemption 96-23. PTE 96-23 permits certain transactions by an employee benefit plan that would otherwise be prohibited by ERISA, where the plan?ÇÖs assets are managed by an in-house asset manager (INHAM) and other conditions are satisfied. The amendment makes several changes to the existing exemption, including: expanding the definition of INHAM to include a subsidiary that is 80 percent or more owned by the employer or a parent; permitting transactions with a ?Ç£co-joint venturer?Ç¥ under certain circumstances; and extending the exemption to cover certain existing commercial real estate leases. The amendment also increases the exemption?ÇÖs ?Ç£related person?Ç¥ test threshold from 5 percent ownership to 10 percent, and increases from $50 million to $85 million the amount of assets that must be managed to qualify as an INHAM. The amendment can be found here.