Category Archives: consumer protection

“The Lie of the Pie”: Mutual Fund Marketing “Trickeration”

by James W. Watkins, III The financial services industry likes to use charts…a lot of charts. Attorneys do not like charts. Charts can be confusing and misleading, sometimes deliberately so. One judge told me that after I had argued the … Continue reading

Posted in 401k, 401k compliance, 401k investments, Active Management Value Ratio, AMVR, asset allocation, closet index funds, clsoet index funds, compliance, consumer protection, cost consciousness, cost efficient, cost-efficiency, Cost_Efficiency, ERISA, evidence based investing, fiduciary compliance, fiduciary duty, fiduciary law, fiduciary liability, fiduciary liability, Fiduciary prudence, fiduciary prudence, fiduciary responsibility, fiduciary standard, investment advisers, investments, Mutual funds, pension plans, plan sponsors, prudence, wealth management, wealth preservation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Redefining Fiduciary Prudence for 401(k) Plan Sponsors

by James W. Watkins, III, J.D., CFP®, AWMA® The legal requirement for prudence, as defined in ERISA Section 404(a)(1)(B), is for a fiduciary to discharge his or her duties with: “the care, skill, prudence, and diligence under the circumstances then prevailing that a prudent man acting in a … Continue reading

Posted in 401k, 401k compliance, 401k investments, 403b, Active Management Value Ratio, AMVR, closet index funds, compliance, consumer protection, cost consciousness, cost efficient, cost-efficiency, DOL fiduciary rule, ERISA, ERISA litigation, fiduciary compliance, fiduciary duty, fiduciary law, fiduciary liability, fiduciary liability, Fiduciary prudence, fiduciary prudence, fiduciary responsibility, investment advisers, investments, pension plans, plan sponsors, prudence, retirement plans, risk management | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

At What Cost?: Annuities, Cryptocurrency, and Fiduciary Law

A [fiduciary] is held to something stricter than the morals of the market place.  Not honesty alone, but the punctilio of an honor the most sensitive, is the standard of behavior….1 Fiduciary law is a combination of three types of … Continue reading

Posted in 401k, 401k compliance, 401k investments, 403b, Active Management Value Ratio, AMVR, Annuities, consumer protection, cost consciousness, cost efficient, cost-efficiency, Cost_Efficiency, ERISA litigation, evidence based investing, fiduciary compliance, fiduciary duty, fiduciary law, fiduciary liability, fiduciary liability, Fiduciary prudence, fiduciary prudence, fiduciary responsibility, fiduciary standard, investment advisers, pension plans, prudence, retirement plans, risk management, securities compliance, wealth management, wealth preservation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Connecting the Dots: Correlation of Returns and Fiduciary Prudence

With SCOTUS’ recent decision in Hughes v. Northwestern University1, we now have what I like to refer to as the “fiduciary responsibility trinity” (Trinity). The Trinity consists of the Tibble v. Edison International2 (Tibble), Brotherston v. Putnam Investments, LLC3(Brotherston), and … Continue reading

Posted in 401k, 401k compliance, 401k investments, 403b, Active Management Value Ratio, 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, pension plans, prudence, wealth management, wealth preservation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The #Northwestern403b Decision: What Next For Plan Sponsors?

This past Monday, SCOTUS issued its much anticipated decision in Hughes v. Northwestern University (#Northwestern403b) The original issue before the Court was whether or not the plan participants had properly plead their case in their complaint. The lower courts had … Continue reading

Posted in 401k, 401k compliance, 401k investments, 403b, Active Management Value Ratio, best interest, 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, investments, wealth management, wealth preservation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

3Q 2021 Top Ten 401(k) AMVR “Cheat Sheet”

When InvestSense prepares a forensic analysis for a 401(k)/403(b) pension plan, a trust, an attorney, or an institutional client, we always do an analysis over five and ten-year time periods to analyze the consistency of performance. Since so many social … Continue reading

Posted in 401k, 401k investments, Active Management Value Ratio, AMVR, asset allocation, consumer protection, cost consciousness, cost-efficiency, Cost_Efficiency, Fiduciary prudence, fiduciary responsibility, financial planning, prudence, retirement planning, wealth management, wealth preservation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Non-Commission Annuities: The “New” Fiduciary Annuity Trap

“Equity abhors a windfall.” Fiduciary law is largely based on trust, agency and equity law, with an emphasis on fundamental fairness. Any situation in which a fiduciary benefits at a beneficiary’s expense is a potential breach of the fiduciary’s duties. … Continue reading

Posted in 401k, 401k compliance, 401k investments, Annuities, compliance, consumer protection, cost-efficiency, ERISA, ERISA litigation, fiduciary compliance, fiduciary law, fiduciary liability, Fiduciary prudence, fiduciary responsibility, investment advisers, prudence, Reg BI, RIA Compliance, RIA marketing, securities compliance, wealth management, wealth preservation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

4Q 2019 AMVR Cost-Efficiency Analysis

I apologize for the delay in posting the 4Q 2019 AMVR Cost-Efficiency Analysis. I have been involved in a legal battle involving my investor advocacy/education blog, “CommonSense InvestSense.” Fortunately, the matter has been resolved and the blog is back online. … Continue reading

Posted in 401k, 401k compliance, 401k investments, 403b, 404c, 404c compliance, Active Management Value Ratio, AMVR, closet index funds, compliance, consumer protection, cost consciousness, cost-efficiency, ERISA, ERISA litigation, fiduciary compliance, fiduciary law, fiduciary liability, Fiduciary prudence, fiduciary standard, investment advisers, investments, pension plans, prudence, retirement plans, RIA, RIA Compliance, risk management, wealth management, wealth preservation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Putnam Investments, LLC v. Brotherston: The End of “Business as Usual” for 401(k) Plans

Earlier this year I posted an article on this blog, “Putnam Investments, LLC v. Brotherston: Pivotal Point for 401(k)/403(b) Industries?” The article focused on the potential impact of the case regarding both the general operation of 401(k) plans and legal … Continue reading

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

“Fair Dealing”-The Key to Navigating the Suitability, Best Interest and Fiduciary Standards

Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex… It takes a touch of genius-and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction. – Albert Einstein With FINRA’s recent announcement that it will keep its suitability rule and … Continue reading

Posted in 401k, 401k compliance, 401k investments, 403b, 404c compliance, Active Management Value Ratio, AMVR, best interest, closet index funds, compliance, consumer protection, cost consciousness, cost-efficiency, DOL fiduciary standard, ERISA, fiduciary compliance, fiduciary law, fiduciary liability, fiduciary standard, pension plans, Reg BI, wealth management, wealth preservation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment