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- 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 responsibility
Reading Between the Marketing Lines: Fiduciary Risk Management in the Face of Complexity and Conflicts-of-Interests
James W. Watkins, III, J.D., CFP EmeritusTM, AWMA® Simplicity is the new sophistication. – Steve Jobs Complexity is job security. – Rick Ferri I recently conducted a fiduciary prudence audit for a 401(k) plan. During the review of my audit … Continue reading
Posted in 401k, 401k compliance, 401k investments, 401k litigation, 401k plan design, 401k plans, 401k risk management, 403b, cost consciousness, ERISA, fiduciary, fiduciary compliance, fiduciary law, fiduciary liability, fiduciary liability, Fiduciary prudence, fiduciary prudence, fiduciary responsibility, fiduciary risk management, fiduciary standard, pension plans, plan advisers, plan sponsors, retirement plans
Tagged 401k, 401k compliance, 401k risk management, ERISA, ERISA liability, fiduciary, fiduciary investing, fiduciary law, fiduciary liability, fiduciary risk management, plan sponsor, retirement plans
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The Fiduciary Prudence Ratio™: Quantifying Fiduciary Prudence and the Quality of Investment Advice
James W. Watkins, III, J.D., CFP EmeritusTM, AWMA® Most pension plans use mutual funds as the primary investment options within their plan. The Restatement of Trusts (Restatement) states that fiduciaries should carefully compare the costs and risks associated with a … Continue reading
Posted in 401k, 401k compliance, 401k investments, 401k litigation, 401k plan design, 401k plans, 401k risk management, AMVR, cost consciousness, cost-efficiency, defined contribution, ERISA, ERISA litigation, fiduciary, fiduciary compliance, fiduciary duty, fiduciary law, fiduciary liability, fiduciary liability, Fiduciary prudence, fiduciary prudence, fiduciary responsibility, fiduciary risk management, Mutual funds, pension plans, plan sponsors, prudence
Tagged 401k, 401k litigation, ERISA, fiduciary, fiduciary investing, fiduciary law, Fiduciary prudence, fiduciary responsibilities, fiduciary risk management, fiduciarylitigation, retirement plans
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No Bonus Points for Complexity: Simplifying Fiduciary Risk Management
James W. Watkins, III, J.D., CFP EmeritusTM, AWMA® I was at a professional reception over the holidays when someone introduced themselves and asked the “what do you do for a living” question. The rest of the conversation went something like … Continue reading
Posted in 401k, 401k compliance, 401k investments, 401k litigation, 401k risk management, 403b, Active Management Value Ratio, AMVR, Annuities, consumer protection, cost consciousness, cost-efficiency, defined contribution, fiduciary, fiduciary compliance, fiduciary duty, fiduciary law, fiduciary liability, fiduciary liability, Fiduciary prudence, fiduciary prudence, fiduciary responsibility, fiduciary risk management, pension plans, plan advisers, plan sponsors, prudence, retirement plans, risk management, wealth management, wealth preservation
Tagged 401k, 401k fiduciary, ERISA, fiduciary, fiduciary duty, Fiduciary prudence, retirement plans, risk management
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A Curious Paradox: “Meaningful Benchmarks,” Fiduciary Prudence, and the Active Management Value Ratio
James W. Watkins, III, J.D., CFP EmeritusTM, AWMA® Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing has happened.Winston Churchill Some courts continue to attempt to justify premature dismissals of … Continue reading
Posted in 401k, 401k compliance, 401k investments, 401k litigation, 401k plan design, 401k plans, 401k risk management, 403b, 404c, 404c compliance, Active Management Value Ratio, AMVR, best interest, closet index funds, compliance, consumer protection, cost consciousness, cost-efficiency, defined contribution, DOL, ERISA, ERISA litigation, evidence based investing, fiduciary, fiduciary compliance, fiduciary duty, fiduciary law, fiduciary liability, fiduciary liability, fiduciary prudence, fiduciary responsibility, fiduciary risk management, fiduciary standard, investments, Mutual funds, pension plans, plan advisers, plan sponsors, prudence, retirement plans, risk management, SCOTUS, Supreme Court, trust realtionships, wealth management, wealth preservation
Tagged 401k, 401k compliance, 404c compliance, compliance, defined contribution, ERISA, fiducairy risk management, fiduciary, fiduciary duty, fiduciary investing, fiduciary law, fiduciary liability, fiduciary loyalty, Fiduciary prudence, fiduciary responsibility, fiduciary risk management, fiduciarylitigation, investment advisers, plansponsors, retirement plans
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The InvestSense Challenge for Plan Sponsors: Key Fiduciary Liability Risk Management Questions
James W. Watkins, III, J.D., CFP EmeritusTM, AWMA® I often hear or read plan sponsors and other investment fiduciaries describing how hard their jobs are, how difficult it is to select and monitor their plan’s investment options and avoid fiduciary … Continue reading
Posted in 401k, 401k compliance, 401k investments, 401k litigation, 401k plan design, 401k plans, 401k risk management, 403b, 404c, 404c compliance, Active Management Value Ratio, AMVR, Annuities, compliance, consumer protection, 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, financial planning, investments, Mutual funds, pension plans, plan advisers, plan sponsors, prudence, retirement planning, retirement plans, RIA, RIA Compliance, risk management, wealth management, wealth preservation
Tagged 401k, 401k compliance, 404c compliance, Annuities, compliance, ERISA, fiduciary, fiduciary duty, fiduciary investing, fiduciary law, fiduciary liability, fiduciary loyalty, fiduciary oversight, Fiduciary prudence, fiduciary responsibility, fiduciary risk management, fiduciarylitigation, fiduciaryoversight, retirement plans
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“Knew or Should Have Known: Annuities, Plan Sponsors, and Fiduciary Law – Part 2
James W. Watkins, III, J.D., CFP EmeritusTM, AWMA® In Part 1 of “Knew or Should Have Known”: Annuities, Plan Sponsors, and Fiduciary Law,” I examined the basic structure of fiduciary law and some of the potential fiduciary liability issues posed … Continue reading
Posted in 401k, 401k compliance, 401k investments, 401k litigation, 401k plan design, 401k plans, 401k risk management, 403b, 404c, 404c compliance, Active Management Value Ratio, Annuities, compliance, 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, investment advisers, investments, Mutual funds, pension plans, plan advisers, plan sponsors, prudence, retirement plans, risk management, SCOTUS, Supreme Court, wealth management
Tagged 401k, 401k compliance, 401klitigation, 404c compliance, ERISA, fiduciary, fiduciary investing, fiduciary law, fiduciary liability, fiduciary loyalty, Fiduciary prudence, fiduciary responsibilities, fiduciarylitigation, investment advisers, retirement plans, risk management
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“Knew or Should Have Known”: Annuities, Plan Sponsors, and Fiduciary Law – Part 1
James W. Watkins, III, J.D., CFP EmeritusTM, AWMA® For years, the annuity industry has attempted to gain greater access to plan participants’ accounts within 401(k) and 403(b) retirement plans. The industry has tried to counter the fiduciary prohibition against the … Continue reading
Posted in 401k, 401k compliance, 401k investments, 401k litigation, 401k plan design, 401k plans, 401k risk management, 403b, 404c, 404c compliance, Annuities, compliance, consumer protection, 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, investment advisers, investments, Mutual funds, pension plans, plan advisers, plan sponsors, prudence, retirement plans, RIA, RIA Compliance, risk management, securities compliance, wealth management, wealth preservation
Tagged 401k, 401k compliance, 401k litigation, 404c compliance, compliance, ERISA, fiducairy risk management, fiduciary, fiduciary investing, fiduciary law, fiduciary liability, fiduciary responsibility, fiduciarylitigation, fiduciaryprudence, investment advisers, retirement plans
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3Q 2023 AMVR “Cheat Sheets”: Fiduciary Law Benchmarks That Really Matter
The six funds shown are six of the leading non-index funds that are consistently offered in U.S. domestic defined contribution plans. My development of the Active Management Value Ratio (AMVR) metric was originally based on the work of Nobel laureate … Continue reading
Posted in 401k, 401k compliance, 401k litigation, 401k plan design, 401k plans, 401k risk management, 403b, Active Management Value Ratio, AMVR, closet index funds, consumer protection, 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, investments, Mutual funds, pension plans, plan advisers, plan sponsors, prudence, retirement plans, risk management, SCOTUS, Supreme Court
Tagged 401k, 401k compliance, 401k fiduciary, 401k litigation, 401klitigation, compliance, ERISA, fiducairy risk management, fiduciary, fiduciary investing, fiduciary law, fiduciary liability, Fiduciary prudence, fiduciary responsibilities, fiduciary responsibility, fiduciary risk management, fiduciaryliability, fiduciarylitigation, fiduciaryprudence, fiduciaryriskmanagement, plan sponsor, plan sponsors, retirement plans
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Making ERISA Meaningful: Common Sense, “Humble Arithmetic,” SCOTUS, and the Matney Case
The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals finally issued its much-anticipated decision in Matney v. Briggs Gold of North America1 (Matney). As expected, the Court upheld the district court’s dismissal of the case. The good news is that the Tenth Circuit’s … Continue reading
Posted in 401k, 401k compliance, 401k investments, 401k litigation, 401k plan design, 401k plans, 401k risk management, 403b, Active Management Value Ratio, 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, risk management, SCOTUS, Supreme Court
Tagged 401k, 401k compliance, 401k litigation, 401k plans, 401k risk management, compliance, ERISA, fiduciary, fiduciary duty, fiduciary investing, fiduciary law, fiduciary liability, Fiduciary prudence, fiduciary responsibility, plansponsor, retirement plans
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Why Smart Fiduciaries Avoid Annuities: “Humble Arithmetic,” Annuities, and Fiduciary Liability
By James W. Watkins, III, J.D., CFP Board Emeritus™, AWMA® [A] victim to the relentless rules of humble Arithmetic. Remember, O stranger, ‘Arithmetic is the first of the sciences and the mother of safety.’U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis Fiduciary … Continue reading
Posted in 401k, 401k compliance, 401k investments, 401k litigation, 401k plan design, 401k plans, 401k risk management, 403b, Active Management Value Ratio, AMVR, Annuities, compliance, consumer protection, cost consciousness, 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 planning, retirement plans, risk management, wealth management, wealth preservation
Tagged 401k, 401k compliance, 401k fiduciary, Annuities, compliance, consumer protection, ERISA, fiduciary, fiduciary duty, fiduciary investing, fiduciary law, fiduciary liability, fiduciary loyalty, fiduciary oversight, Fiduciary prudence, fiduciary responsibilities, fiduciary responsibility, fiduciary risk management, fiduciary standard, fiduciaryliability, fiduciarylitigation, fiduciaryresponsibility, investor protection
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