Author Archives: jwatkins

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About jwatkins

I am a securities and ERISA attorney. I hold CFP Board Emeritus™ status and I am an Accredited Wealth Management Advisor™. I provide fiduciary risk management consulting to 401k/430b plans, trustees, RIAs and other investment fiduciaries. I am a 1977 graduate of Georgia State University and a 1981 graduate of the University of Notre Dame Law School. I am the author of "CommonSense InvestSense: The Power of the Informed Investor" and "The 401(k)/403(b) Investment Manual: What Plan Sponsors and Plan Participants REALLY Need To Know" I write two blogs, "CommonSense InvestSense, investsense.com, and "The Prudent Investment Fiduciary Rules, fiduciaryinvestsense.com. As a former compliance director, I have extensive experience in evaluating the legal prudence of various types of investments, including mutual funds and annuities. My goal is to combine my legal and compliance experience in order to help educate investors and investment fiduciaries on sound, proven investment strategies that will help them protect their financial security and/or avoid unnecessary fiduciary liability exposure.

Duty of Cost-Consciousness: The Fiduciary “Gotcha” You Think You Understand…But You Probably Don’t

While no one is certain at this point what the eventual DOL fiduciary rule will look like, or whether there will even be a DOL fiduciary rule, fiduciary law will continue to exist and establish the liability standards for investment … Continue reading

Posted in 401k, 401k compliance, 401k investments, 404c compliance, Annuities, closet index funds, clsoet index funds, DOL fiduciary standard, ERISA, fiduciary compliance, fiduciary law, Fiduciary prudence, fiduciary standard, Impartial Conduct Standards, investment advisers, investments, IRAs, pension plans, retirement plans | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

“Apples to Apples” and Other Investment Return Issues

I just finished reading Judge Doty’s decision dismissing the Wells Fargo 401(k) excessive fees action and the complaint filed in the new Capital Group/American Funds 401(k) breach of fiduciary duties action. Just seems to be further evidence that we have … Continue reading

Posted in 401k, 401k compliance, 404c compliance, closet index funds, compliance, DOL fiduciary rule, DOL fiduciary standard, ERISA, fiduciary compliance, fiduciary law, Fiduciary prudence, fiduciary standard, Impartial Conduct Standards, investment advisers, investments, pension plans, retirement plans, RIA | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Quantifying the Impartial Conduct Standards Under the DOL’s New Fiduciary Rule

With a portion of the DOL’s new fiduciary rule scheduled to go into effect at midnight tonight, there are still some unanswered questions with regard to how some key terms will be interpreted. The key terms in question are primarily … Continue reading

Posted in 401k, 401k compliance, 401k investments, 404c compliance, Annuities, BICE, compliance, DOL fiduciary rule, DOL fiduciary standard, ERISA, fiduciary compliance, fiduciary law, Fiduciary prudence, fiduciary standard, Impartial Conduct Standards, investment advisers, pension plans, retirement plans, RIA, wealth management, wealth preservation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Investor Revolution: A “Best Interests” Checklist for Investors and Fiduciaries

The DOL recently announced that it will not seek to delay the effective date of the department’s new fiduciary law. Beginning June 9, 2017, anyone providing advice to pension plans and plan participants will be deemed to be a fiduciary, … Continue reading

Posted in 401k, 401k compliance, 401k investments, 403b, 404c, 404c compliance, DOL fiduciary standard, ERISA, fiduciary compliance, fiduciary law, Fiduciary prudence, fiduciary standard, investment advisers, investments, pension plans, retirement plans, securities compliance, wealth management, wealth preservation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Courts, the Restatement of Trusts, ERISA and Fiduciary Liability

Yesterday, I posted an article written by a fellow attorney, Ary Rosenbaum. The article, “Simple Advice to Retirement Plan Sponsors,” provided sound advice on a number of key topics for pension plan fiduciaries. As an ERISA and fiduciary attorney, it … Continue reading

Posted in fiduciary compliance | Leave a comment

Guest Column-Simple Advice to Retirement Plan Sponsors

I generally do not post or allow other parties to post on any of my blogs due to legal concerns. However, Ary Rosenbaum is a fellow attorney and posts some extremely useful and informative material online with regard to ERISA … Continue reading

Posted in 401k, 401k compliance, 404c, 404c compliance, ERISA, fiduciary compliance, fiduciary law, Fiduciary prudence, fiduciary standard, pension plans, retirement plans, wealth management | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Controlling the Controllable: Factoring Investment Costs Into the Prudence/Suitability Equation

Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored. – Aldous Huxley In an earlier post, I discussed the benefits of controlling the controllable aspects of investing. Investors cannot control the performance of the markets. Investment fiduciaries are not … Continue reading

Posted in 401k, 401k compliance, 401k investments, 403b, 404c, 404c compliance, DOL fiduciary standard, elderly investment fraud, evidence based investing, fiduciary compliance, fiduciary law, Fiduciary prudence, fiduciary standard, financial planning, investment advisers, investments, IRAs, pension plans, retirement plans, RIA, robo-advisors, special needs advice, special needs planning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

RIA Liability for Use of Third-Party Advertising

Recently I have made some comments on social media in connection with some posts made by American Funds with regard to the performance of some of their funds. As a securities/ERISA attorney, RIA compliance consultant and former compliance manager, the … Continue reading

Posted in compliance, RIA, RIA Compliance, securities compliance | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Emerging Asset Allocation “Trap?”

As both a securities/ERISA attorney and a CFP® professional, I realize that I often see things from a different perspective that other in those professions. Some would say that is an advantage, others say it’s a disadvantage. I have definitely … Continue reading

Posted in 401k compliance, 404c compliance, compliance, DOL fiduciary standard, elder law, elderly investment fraud, fiduciary compliance, fiduciary law, fiduciary standard, financial planning, investment advisers, investments, IRAs, pension plans, RIA Compliance, securities, special needs advice, wealth management, wealth preservation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Special Needs Trusts and Your Value-Added Proposition

Excellent discussion and analysis on a subject that is gaining increasing attention by both financial planners, financial advisers and attorneys, as the need for such services continues to grow as people realize the significant benefits, and protection, that experienced professionals … Continue reading

Posted in elder law, elderly investment fraud, financial planning, investment advisers, special needs advice, special needs planning, trust realtionships, wealth management, wealth preservation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment