Category Archives: AMVR

“Humble Arithmetic” and the Future of 401(k) Litigation

By James W. Watkins, III, J.D., CFP Board EmeritusTM, AWMATM Fortunately, there is currently a case pending in the 10th Circuit, the Matney case, which may go a long way in resolving two of the primary issues that continue to … Continue reading

Posted in 401k, 401k compliance, 401k investments, 401k plan design, 401k risk management, 403b, Active Management Value Ratio, AMVR, cost consciousness, cost efficient, cost-efficiency, Cost_Efficiency, ERISA, ERISA litigation, fiduciary, fiduciary compliance, fiduciary duty, fiduciary law, fiduciary liability, fiduciary liability, Fiduciary prudence, fiduciary prudence, fiduciary responsibility, fiduciary risk management, fiduciary standard, investments, Mutual funds, pension plans, plan advisers, plan sponsors, prudence, retirement plans, risk management | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

401(k) InvestSense: Focus on Fiduciary Process Over Product

By James W. Watkins, III, J.D., CFP Board Emeritus™, AWMA® People often ask me what is the most common mistake that plan sponsors make, The answer is simple-assuming unnecessary fiduciary liability exposure by focusing on product rather than process. Actually, … Continue reading

Posted in 401k, 401k compliance, 401k investments, 401k plan design, 401k risk management, 403b, Active Management Value Ratio, AMVR, Annuities, best interest, closet index funds, compliance, cost consciousness, cost efficient, cost-efficiency, ERISA, ERISA litigation, fiduciary, fiduciary compliance, fiduciary duty, fiduciary law, fiduciary liability, fiduciary liability, Fiduciary prudence, fiduciary prudence, fiduciary responsibility, fiduciary risk management, fiduciary standard, investment advisers, investments, Mutual funds, pension plans, plan advisers, plan sponsors, prudence, retirement plans, risk management, wealth management, wealth preservation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

4Q 2022 AMVR “Cheat Sheets”: Correlation of Returns, “Closet Indexing,” and Fiduciary Liability

James W. Watkins, III, J.D., CFP Board EmeritusTM, AWMATM First, note the new URL address. After years of having to explain the old “iainsight.wordpress.com” URL, we finally worked with WordPress to accomplish the re-branding. Kudos to WordPress for working with … Continue reading

Posted in 401k, 401k compliance, 401k investments, 401k plan design, 401k risk management, Active Management Value Ratio, AMVR, closet index funds, compliance, consumer protection, cost consciousness, ERISA, fiduciary, fiduciary compliance, fiduciary duty, fiduciary law, fiduciary liability, fiduciary liability, Fiduciary prudence, fiduciary prudence, fiduciary responsibility, fiduciary risk management, fiduciary standard, investment advisers, investments, Mutual funds, pension plans, plan advisers, plan sponsors, prudence, retirement plans, risk management, SEC, securities, securities compliance, trust realtionships, wealth management, wealth preservation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

401(k) Litigation Trends to Watch in 2023

I am often asked what I see as the current trends in 401(k) and what fiduciary risk management steps plan sponsors should consider in order to reduce any potential fiduciary risk exposure. With the end of the year approaching, now … Continue reading

Posted in 401k, 401k compliance, 401k investments, 401k plan design, 401k risk management, Active Management Value Ratio, AMVR, compliance, cost consciousness, cost efficient, cost-efficiency, ERISA, ERISA litigation, fiduciary, fiduciary compliance, fiduciary duty, fiduciary law, fiduciary liability, fiduciary liability, Fiduciary prudence, fiduciary prudence, fiduciary responsibility, fiduciary risk management, fiduciary standard, investments, Mutual funds, pension plans, plan advisers, plan sponsors, prudence, retirement plans, risk management, SCOTUS, securities compliance, Supreme Court | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

What If They Are Wrong?: How Court Decisions Impact 401(k) and 403(b) Plan Sponsors’ Fiduciary Risk Management Decisions

As an attorney and a fiduciary risk management consultant, my first thought when SCOTUS announced its decision in Hughes v. Northwestern University1 (Northwestern) was the renewed potential fiduciary risk liability for the plan sponsors. During the oral arguments, SCOTUS was … Continue reading

Posted in 401k, 401k compliance, 401k investments, 401k plan design, 401k risk management, 403b, Active Management Value Ratio, AMVR, compliance, cost consciousness, cost efficient, cost-efficiency, ERISA, ERISA litigation, fiduciary compliance, fiduciary duty, fiduciary law, fiduciary liability, fiduciary liability, Fiduciary prudence, fiduciary prudence, fiduciary responsibility, fiduciary risk management, fiduciary standard, Mutual funds, pension plans, plan advisers, plan sponsors, prudence, retirement plans, risk management, SCOTUS, Supreme Court, wealth management, wealth preservation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Who Will Tell the Plan Sponsors?: The Truth About the Looming Fiduciary Liability Trap in 401(k) and 403(b) Litigation

I have been reading a number of articles from some very impressive law firms suggesting that the attorneys for 401(k)/403(b) firms should file combine motions to dismiss with motions for summary judgment in order to deny plan participants from obtaining … Continue reading

Posted in 401k, 401k compliance, 401k investments, 401k plan design, 401k risk management, 403b, Active Management Value Ratio, AMVR, compliance, consumer protection, cost consciousness, cost efficient, cost-efficiency, Cost_Efficiency, ERISA, ERISA litigation, fiduciary compliance, fiduciary duty, fiduciary law, fiduciary liability, fiduciary liability, Fiduciary prudence, fiduciary prudence, fiduciary responsibility, fiduciary risk management, fiduciary standard, investment advisers, pension plans, plan advisers, plan sponsors, prudence, retirement plans, risk management, SCOTUS, Supreme Court, wealth management, wealth preservation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Target Date Funds Are Now the Targets

In my last post, I published the “cheat sheets” for six of the most commonly used non-index-based funds in U.S. defined contribution plans. However, those funds did not include any target date funds (TDFs). TDFs are diversified asset allocation funds … Continue reading

Posted in 401k, 401k compliance, 401k investments, 401k plan design, 401k risk management, 403b, Active Management Value Ratio, AMVR, consumer protection, cost consciousness, cost efficient, cost-efficiency, Cost_Efficiency, ERISA, ERISA litigation, fiduciary compliance, fiduciary duty, fiduciary liability, fiduciary prudence | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Fiduciary Risk Management and Liability-Driven 401(k) Plan Design

by James W. Watkins, III, J.D., CFP®, AWMA® I have written several posts on this blog critiquing the Sixth Circuit’s decision in Smith v. CommonSpirit Health (CommonSpirit). The decision, particularly the court’s “apples and oranges” argument is inconsistent with the … Continue reading

Posted in 401k, 401k compliance, 401k investments, 401k plan design, 401k risk management, 403b, Active Management Value Ratio, AMVR, cost consciousness, cost efficient, cost-efficiency, ERISA, ERISA litigation, fiduciary compliance, fiduciary duty, fiduciary law, fiduciary liability, fiduciary liability, Fiduciary prudence, fiduciary prudence, fiduciary responsibility, fiduciary risk management, fiduciary standard, investment advisers, investments, Mutual funds, pension plans, plan sponsors, prudence, risk management, wealth management, wealth preservation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Brotherston v. CommonSpirit Health: An Opportunity, and a Need, to Shift the 401(k) Litigation Paradigm

In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity – Sun Tzu As an ERISA attorney, the Sixth Circuit’s recent CommonSpirit Health (CommonSpirit) decision1 concerns me. First, the Court completely ignored the First Circuit’s Brotherston decision2, the Restatement (Third) of … Continue reading

Posted in 401k, 401k compliance, 401k investments, 403b, Active Management Value Ratio, AMVR, cost consciousness, cost-efficiency, Cost_Efficiency, ERISA, ERISA litigation, fiduciary compliance, fiduciary duty, fiduciary law, fiduciary liability, fiduciary liability, Fiduciary prudence, fiduciary prudence, fiduciary responsibility, fiduciary risk management, fiduciary standard, Mutual funds, pension plans, plan sponsors, prudence, risk management, SEC, wealth management, wealth preservation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

An Inconvenient Truth: Cost-Inefficiency and Closet Indexing in 401(k) Plans

“Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored” – Aldous Huxley The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals’ recent decision in the CommonSpirit Health (CommonSpirit)1 401(k) action has brought renewed attention to several key 401(k) compliance and fiduciary liability … Continue reading

Posted in 401k, 401k compliance, 401k investments, 403b, Active Management Value Ratio, AMVR, best interest, closet index funds, compliance, consumer protection, cost consciousness, cost efficient, cost-efficiency, ERISA, ERISA litigation, fiduciary compliance, fiduciary duty, fiduciary law, fiduciary liability, fiduciary liability, Fiduciary prudence, fiduciary prudence, fiduciary responsibility, investments, Mutual funds, pension plans, plan sponsors, prudence, Reg BI, retirement plans, risk management, wealth management, wealth preservation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments