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Recent Posts
- The DOL’s Pizarro v. Home Depot Amicus Brief: Borzi and Gomez Don’t Live Here @ EBSA Anymore
- DOL’s Betrayal of American Workers Sends a Clear Message to American Workers: We Really Don’t Give a Damn About You!
- Implications of Section 78(3) of the Restatement (Third) of Trusts and the Expanding “Knew or Should Have Known” Liability Standard in the Era of AI
- Closing Argument: Humble Arithmetic, Common Sense, and Fiduciary Liability vs. In-Plan Annuities
- Closing Argument: Humble Arithmetic, Common Sense, and Fiduciary Responsibility vs. In-Plan Annuities
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Category Archives: fiduciary liability
“Meaningful Choices”: Cost-Efficiency, the CommonSpirit Health decision, and the Future of 401(k) Litigation
Recently, the Sixth Circuit handed down its decision in the Smith v. CommonSpirit Health (“CommonSpirit) 401(k) action.1 My immediate reaction was “hello again SCOTUS,” as once again we have inconsistent and irreconcilable rulings between two circuits involving ERISA litigation The … Continue reading
Posted in 401k, 401k compliance, 401k investments, 403b, Active Management Value Ratio, AMVR, best interest, closet index funds, 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 standard, investment advisers, investments, Mutual funds, pension plans, plan sponsors, prudence, Reg BI, wealth management, wealth preservation
Tagged 401k, 401k compliance, compliance, cost-efficiency, ERISA, ERISA litigation, fiduciary, fiduciary investing, fiduciary law, fiduciary liability, Fiduciary prudence, fiduciary responsibility, investment advisers, plansponsors, retirement plans
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Caveat Fiduciarius: The Reg BI “Reasonably Available Alternatives”/ERISA “Fiduciary Prudence” Liability Trap
I am on record as saying that (a) ERISA plaintiff’s attorneys should never lose a properly vetted 401(k)/403(b) action, and (b) the amount of 401(k)/403(b) litigation is going to continue to increase. Those opinions are based on three trends within … Continue reading
Posted in 401k, 401k compliance, 401k investments, 403b, 404c, 404c compliance, best interest, 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, fiduciary standard, investment advisers, investments, Mutual funds, pension plans, plan sponsors, prudence, Reg BI, retirement plans, wealth management, wealth preservation
Tagged 401k, 401k compliance, 404c, 404c compliance, best interests, compliance, ERISA, fiduciary, fiduciary duty, fiduciary investing, fiduciary law, Fiduciary prudence, fiuciary responsibility, investment advisers, InvestSense, plan sponsors, Reg BI, retirement plans
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“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 401k, 401k compliance, Active Expense Ratio, Active Management Value Ratio, compliance, cost-efficiency, ERISA, fiduciary, fiduciary investing, fiduciary law, Mutual funds
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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 401k, 401k compliance, Active Management Value Ratio, AMVR, compliance, ERISA, fiduciary, fiduciary investing, fiduciary law, fiduciary liability, Fiduciary prudence, fiduciary responsibility, investment advisers, plan sponsors, retirement plans
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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 401k, 401k compliance, 404c compliance, compliance, ERISA, fiduciary, fiduciary investing, fiduciary law, plansponsors, retirement plans, trustees, trusts, trusts and estates
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Heuristics, Cognitive Biases and 401(k)/403(b) Fiduciary Decision-Making
The number of 401(k)/403(b) cases continues to grow. And it will continue to do so unless and until plan sponsors take the time to truly understand their legal responsibilities and adjust their plans accordingly. I am on record as saying … Continue reading
Posted in 401k, 401k compliance, 401k investments, 403b, Active Management Value Ratio, ERISA, ERISA litigation, fiduciary compliance, fiduciary duty, fiduciary law, fiduciary liability, fiduciary liability, Fiduciary prudence, fiduciary prudence, fiduciary responsibility, fiduciary standard, investments, retirement plans, wealth management, wealth preservation
Tagged 401k, 401k compliance, 401k litigation, 403b, ERISA, ERISA litigation, fiduciary, fiduciary investing, fiduciary law, fiduciary liability, fiduciary responsibility, investment advisers, plansponsors, retirement plans, trustees, trusts
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1Q 2022 AMVR “Cheat Sheets”
On the 5-year cheat sheet, only one fund, Dodge & Cox Stock (DODGX), posted positive incremental returns on both nominal and risk-adjusted returns. While DODGX passed the AMVR screen on nominal returns, the fund failed to pass the AMVR screen … Continue reading
Posted in 401k, 401k compliance, Active Management Value Ratio, cost efficient, cost-efficiency, DOL fiduciary standard, ERISA, fiduciary duty, fiduciary liability, fiduciary liability, Fiduciary prudence, fiduciary prudence, fiduciary responsibility, pension plans
Tagged fiduciary, fiduciary investing, Fiduciary prudence, fiduciary responsibility, wealth management, wealth preservation
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Less Is More: Plan Sponsors and the Art of Fiduciary Thinking
When I read about the House passing the SECURE 2.0 bill, I had three immediate thoughts: “Annuities are sold, not bought.” “So, plan sponsors are going to be able to automatically force employees to contribute to non-compliant 401(k) plans loaded … Continue reading
Posted in 401k, 401k compliance, 401k investments, Active Management Value Ratio, Annuities, ERISA, ERISA litigation, fiduciary compliance, fiduciary duty, fiduciary law, fiduciary liability, fiduciary liability, Fiduciary prudence, fiduciary prudence, fiduciary responsibility, fiduciary standard, pension plans, prudence
Tagged 401k, 401k compliance, ERISA, fiduciary, fiduciary investing, fiduciary law
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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 401k, 401k compliance, 404c compliance, compliance, ERISA, fiduciary, fiduciary investing, fiduciary law, Fiduciary prudence, fiduciary responsibility, investment advisers, retirement plans
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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 401k, 401k compliance, 403b, Active Management Value Ratio, cost consciousness, cost-efficiency, ERISA, fiduciary, fiduciary investing, fiduciary law, Fiduciary prudence, fiduciary responsibility, retirement plans
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