The U.S. Department of Labor ("DOL") has issued an advisory opinion allowing a trust company to receive 12b-1 fees from mutual funds in which its client plans invest, clarifying in several important respects how ERISA applies to such arrangements. Building on prior guidance, the advisory opinion confirms that the receipt of mutual fund 12b-1 fees by a plan trustee does not result in a prohibited transaction under ERISA so long as an independent fiduciary controls the selection of the mutual funds as plan investment options, which can be the case even where the plan investment options include the trustee’s proprietary funds, and even where the trustee requires as part of its business arrangement that the plan select at least one proprietary fund.