Author Archives: jwatkins

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.

Citigroup Decision’s Warning for 401(k) Fiduciaries

Posted on October 23, 2014 by jwatkins

U.S. District Judge Sidney H. Stein recently ruled that the participants in the Citigroup 401(k) excessive fees case had filed their action within the required time period. Judge Stein’s opinion was based primarily on a finding that absent “actual knowledge” … Continue reading →

Posted in 401k, 401k compliance, 401k investments, 404c, 404c compliance, compliance, fiduciary compliance, fiduciary law, investments, pension plans, retirement plans | Tagged 401k, 401k compliance, 404c, 404c compliance, compliance, ERISA, fiduciary, fiduciary investing, fiduciary law, modern portfolio theory, pension plans, retirement plans | Leave a comment

Three Investment Adviser Fiduciary Traps to Avoid

Posted on September 30, 2014 by jwatkins

My last post advising advisers not to prepare and distribute financial plans resulted in several emails, some nice, some not so nice. With over nineteen years of experience in RIA law, both as a director of RIA compliance for FSC … Continue reading →

Posted in compliance, fiduciary compliance, fiduciary law, RIA, RIA Compliance | Tagged compliance, Compliance Gauntlet, fiduciary, fiduciary law, financial plans, investment advisers, RIA, RIA compliance, RIA risk management, risk management, securities compliance | Leave a comment

Financial Plans v. Investment Policy Statements: One, None or Both?

Posted on August 25, 2014 by jwatkins

As an investment adviser consultant, one of the first things I ask new adviser clients is whether they prepare financial plans for clients. If so, I advise them not to do so going forward. Simply put, a financial plan in … Continue reading →

Posted in compliance, fiduciary compliance, RIA, RIA Compliance, securities compliance | Tagged compliance, fiduciary, fiduciary investing, fiduciary law, financial planning, financial plans, investment advisers, investment analysis tools, portfolio optimization, RIA risk management, risk management, suitability, wealth management, wealth preservation | Leave a comment

Death, Divorce and LaRue: 401(k) Breach of Fiduciary Duty Claims as Assets In Divorce and Probate Cases

Posted on July 22, 2014 by jwatkins

In 2008, the Supreme Court of the United States handed down their landmark decision in LaRue v. DeWolff, Boberg and Associates, Inc.(1) In LaRue, the Court finally recognized the fundamental difference between defined benefit pension plans and defined contribution pension … Continue reading →

Posted in 401k, 401k compliance, 401k investments, 404c, 404c compliance, compliance, fiduciary compliance, fiduciary law, investments, pension plans, retirement plans, wealth management, wealth preservation | Tagged 401k, 401k compliance, 404c, 404c compliance, compliance, fiduciary, fiduciary investing, fiduciary law, pension plans, retirement plans, risk management, wealth management, wealth preservation | Leave a comment

The Art of Fiduciary Investing: Controlling the Controllable

Posted on July 9, 2014 by jwatkins

“[I]nvesting intelligently is about controlling the controllable.” Ben Graham, “The Intelligent Investor” The world of fiduciary investing is going through a significant stage, as more attention is being focused on various issues such as advisory fees, annual fees charged by … Continue reading →

Posted in 401k compliance, 401k investments, 404c, 404c compliance, compliance, fiduciary compliance, fiduciary law, investments, pension plans, retirement plans, wealth management, wealth preservation | Tagged 401k, 401k compliance, ERISA, fiduciary, fiduciary investing, fiduciary law, investment advisers, investment analysis tools, pension plans, retirement plans, RIA risk management, risk management, wealth management, wealth preservation | 1 Comment

Fiduciary Standard and Selective Amnesia at the SEC

Posted on June 1, 2014 by jwatkins

I just finished reading Knut Rostad’s insightful post on ThinkAdvisor.com regarding the ongoing debate over a uniform fiduciary standard for both stockbrokers and investment advisers. For those unfamiliar with Knut, he is the President of The Institute for the Fiduciary … Continue reading →

Posted in fiduciary compliance | Leave a comment

Incredible Marketing Opportunity for RIAs

Posted on May 22, 2014 by jwatkins

I recently read an article in which SEC Commission Gallagher stated that he is not convinced that a universal fiduciary standard is needed. He also stated that he needed to see more evidence of the need for such a standard. … Continue reading →

Posted in RIA | Tagged fiduciary, fiduciary law, investment advisers, RIA, RIA risk management, wealth management | Leave a comment

Social Media and the Investment Adviser

Posted on May 17, 2014 by jwatkins

I could write a new blog entry, but why do so when Financial Planning just wrote an excellent article on the subject. http://www.financial-planning.com/news/practice_management/social-media-and-regulatory-compliance-5-rules-2689208-1.html Without question, the continued use of Facebook “likes” and LinkedIn “recommendations are the most common violations. The … Continue reading →

Posted in compliance, fiduciary compliance, fiduciary law, RIA, RIA Compliance | Tagged compliance, investment advisers, RIA, RIA compliance | Leave a comment

The Investment Adviser’s Achilles’ Heel v. 2.0

Posted on April 17, 2014 by jwatkins

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently released a notice regarding the use of testimonials and social media. Investment advisers are generally prohibited from using client testimonials. While the SEC has allowed the use of third-party ratings as long as certain requirements are met, … Continue reading →

Posted in compliance, fiduciary compliance, fiduciary law, RIA, RIA Compliance | Tagged compliance, fiduciary law, investment advisers, RIA, RIA compliance, RIA risk management, risk management, securities compliance | Leave a comment

THE Key Factor in Liability Risk Management

Posted on March 6, 2014 by jwatkins

I was at a conference recently to serve on a panel to discuss various fiduciary issues, including FINRA Regulatory Notice 12-25 and the universal fiduciary standard. When I am at a conference, I rarely attend other presentations for the very … Continue reading →

Posted in 401k compliance, 404c compliance, compliance, fiduciary compliance, fiduciary law, investments, RIA Compliance, securities compliance, wealth management, wealth preservation | Tagged 401k compliance, 404c compliance, compliance, fiduciary, fiduciary law, FINRA, investment advisers, portfolio optimization, RIA compliance, RIA risk management, risk management, securities compliance, suitability, wealth management, wealth preservation | Leave a comment