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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
The Prudent Investment Adviser Rules
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Tag Archives: 401k litigation
Plan Sponsor and RIA Alert: Navigating the 78(3) Fiduciary Liability “Gotcha”
James W. Watkins, III, J.D., CFP EmeritusTM, AWMA® During a recent deposition I asked the plan sponsor if he understood the requirement under the fiduciary duties of prudence and loyalty. His answers were your basic ERISA 404(a) language. When he … Continue reading
Posted in 401k, 401k compliance, 401k investments, 401k litigation, 401k plan design, 401k plans, 401k risk management, 401klitigation, 404(a), Annuities, compliance, ERISA, ERISA litigation, fiduciary, fiduciary compliance, fiduciary duty, fiduciary law, fiduciary liability, fiduciary liability, Fiduciary prudence, fiduciary prudence, fiduciary responsibility, fiduciary risk management, fiduciarylitigation, pension plans, plan advisers, plan sponsors, prudence, retirement plans, RIA, RIA Compliance, RIA marketing, risk management
Tagged 401k, 401k compliance, 401k fiduciary, 401k litigation, 401k plans, Annuities, compliance, ERISA, fiduciary, fiduciary law, investment advisers, plan sponsors, RIA compliance, RIA marketing, RIA risk management
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Annuities are the Antithesis of Fiduciary Prudence
James W. Watkins, III, J.D., CFP EmeritusTM, AWMA® From a legal perspective, the lifetime income annuities being pitched for 401(k) and other types of retirement raise legitimate issues re potential fiduciary breach concerns. As a result, the question is why … Continue reading
Posted in 401k, 401k compliance, 401k investments, 401k litigation, 401k plan design, 401k plans, 401k risk management, 401klitigation, 404c, ERISA litigation, fiduciary compliance, fiduciary duty, fiduciary liability, fiduciary prudence, fiduciarylitigation
Tagged 401k, 401k compliance, 401k litigation, 404c compliance, compliance, ERISA, ERISAlitigation, fiduciary, fiduciary investing, fiduciary law, fiduciary liability, Fiduciary litigation, fiduciary loyalty, Fiduciary prudence, fiduciary responsibility, fiduciary risk management, retirement plans
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ERISA at the Crossroads?: An Analysis of the 11th Circuit’s Home Depot Decision
I recently posted my initial impressions on the 11th Circuit’s Decision in the Pizarro v. Home Depot 401(k) case: It should be noted that the court granted HD summary judgment even though the court found that there were significant issues … Continue reading
Bugielski v. AT&T Services, Inc.: Another Key Case Toward Defining the Future of 401(k) Litigation
James W. Watkins, III, J.D., CFP EmeritusTM, AWMA® SCOTUS may soon have yet another ERISA-related case to review. AT&T Services, Inc. recently petitioned SCOTUS for a writ of certiorari to review the Ninth Circuit’s decision in Bugielski v. AT&T Services, … Continue reading
Posted in 401k, 401k compliance, 401k litigation, 401k plans, 401k risk management, 403b, compliance, defined contribution, DOL, ERISA, ERISA litigation, 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, prohibited transactions, retirement plans, SCOTUS
Tagged 401k compliance, 401k litigation, 401k plans, defined contribution, ERISA compliance, ERISA litigation, fiduciary law, fiduciary liability, fiduciarylitigation, plan sponsors
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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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“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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3 Key Questions for Plan Sponsors on Annuities, “Guaranteed Income,” and Fiduciary Liability Under ERISA – 2025
By James W. Watkins, III, J.D., CFP Board Emeritus™, AWMA® Seems that social media and trade publications are focused on the issue of “guaranteed lifetime income” options within ERISA plans, with various studies indicating that plan participants would be interested … Continue reading
Posted in 401k, 401k compliance, 401k investments, 401k plan design, 401k plans, 401k risk management, 403b, 404c, 404c compliance, AMVR, Annuities, best interest, 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, investments, pension plans, plan sponsors, prudence, retirement plans, risk management, wealth management, wealth preservation
Tagged 401k, 401k compliance, 401k fiduciary, 401k litigation, 401k plans, 404c compliance, compliance, ERISA, fiduciary, fiduciary duty, fiduciary investing, fiduciary law, fiduciary liability, Fiduciary prudence, fiduciary responsibilities, fiduciary responsibility, fiduciaryliability, fiduciarylitigation, plan sponsors, retirement plans
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The Active Expense Ratio: Fiduciary Risk Management’s “Little Secret”
By James W. Watkins, J.D., CFP Board Emeritus™, AWMA® When I created the Active Management Value Ratio (AMVR) metric, the goal was to create a simple tool that would allow investors, investment fiduciaries, and attorneys to quickly and easily evaluate … Continue reading
Posted in 401k, 401k compliance, 401k investments, 401k plan design, 401k risk management, 403b, Active Management Value Ratio, AMVR, asset allocation, closet index funds, 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 planning, retirement plans, risk management, SCOTUS, wealth management, wealth preservation
Tagged 401k, 401k compliance, 401k litigation, compliance, ERISA, ERISA litigation, fiduciary, fiduciary investing, fiduciary law, fiduciary liability, Fiduciary prudence, fiduciary responsibility, fiduciary risk management, fiduciaryliability, investment advisers, retirement plans
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The Prudent Investment Fiduciary Rules 
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