-
Join 235 other subscribers
Meta
-
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
-
Join 235 other subscribers
Tag Archives: 404c compliance
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
Leave a comment
Is the Exxon Model the Future of ERISA Fiduciary Prudence?
By James W. Watkins, III, J.D., CFP Board Emeritus™, AWMA® “Living is easy with eyes closedMisunderstanding all you see…” “Strawberry Fields Forever” – The Beatles In my role as a fiduciary risk management counsel, I constantly see plan sponsors and … 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, ERISA, ERISA litigation, evidence based investing, 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
Tagged 401k, 401k compliance, 404c compliance, compliance, ERISA, ERISA liability, ERISA litigation, ERISAlitigation, fiducairy risk management, fiduciary, fiduciary duty, fiduciary investing, fiduciary law, fiduciary liability, Fiduciary prudence, fiduciary responsibilities, fiduciary responsibility, investment advisers, retirement plans
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 401k, 401k compliance, 401k fiduciary, 401k litigation, 401k plan advisers, 401k plans, 403b, 404c compliance, compliance, ERISA, ERISA litigation, fiduciary, fiduciary investing, fiduciary law, fiduciary liability, Fiduciary prudence, fiduciary risk management, fiduciary standard, fiduciaryliability, fiduciaryresponsibility, investment advisers, plan sponsor, plan sponsors, retirement plans, SCOTUS, Supreme Court
Leave a comment
Target Date Funds Have Now Become the Targets of 401(k) Litigation (Part 2)
In my last post, I analyzed the popular Fidelity Freedom Active Suite and Fidelity Freedom Index target date funds. The Fidelity Freedom and TIAA-CREF Lifestyle target date funds are arguably the two most popular groups of target date funds in … Continue reading
Posted in 401k, 401k compliance, 401k investments, 401k plan design, 401k risk management, 403b, Active Management Value Ratio, 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, investments, Mutual funds, pension plans, plan sponsors, prudence, retirement planning, retirement plans, risk management, wealth management, wealth preservation
Tagged 401k, 401k compliance, 404c compliance, compliance, fiduciary, fiduciary duty, fiduciary investing, fiduciary law, fiduciary liability, fiduciary risk management, investment advisers, investor protection, retirement plans
Leave a comment
SCOTUS, We Still Have a Serious Problem: The Continuing Inconsistency in Judicial Interpretations of ERISA
Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water, the Sixth Circuit issues its decision in Smith v. CommonSpirit Health (CommonSpirit).1 The Sixth Circuit dismissed the plan participant’s action, largely upon the familiar argument that market … Continue reading
Posted in 401k, 401k compliance, 401k investments, 401k plan design, 401k risk management, ERISA, ERISA litigation, fiduciary compliance, fiduciary duty, fiduciary law, fiduciary liability, fiduciary liability, Fiduciary prudence, fiduciary prudence, fiduciary responsibility, fiduciary risk management, pension plans, plan sponsors, risk management
Tagged 401k, 401k compliance, 404c compliance, compliance, ERISA, ERISA litigation, fiduciary, fiduciary investing, fiduciary law, fiduciary liability, Fiduciary prudence, retirement plans, SCOTUS
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 401k, 401k compliance, 401k plans, 403b, 404c compliance, ERISA, fiduciary, fiduciary investing, fiduciary law, fiduciary liability, Fiduciary prudence, fiduciary responsibility, fiduciary standard, retirement plans
2 Comments
The Conversation Every 401(k) and 403(b) Plan Needs to Have: The Plan Sponsor Liability Circle™
James W. Watkins, III, J.D., CFP®, AWMA® Whenever plan sponsors and plan advisers talk about 401(k) litigation, they always point the finger at those bad ‘ol ERISA plaintiff attorneys. Since I am one of those bad folks, I respectfully disagree … 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, 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, Mutual funds, pension plans, plan sponsors, prudence, Reg BI, retirement planning, retirement plans, risk management, securities compliance
Tagged 401k, 401k compliance, 401k risk management, 404c compliance, compliance, ERISA, fiduciary, fiduciary investing, fiduciary law, fiduciary liability, Fiduciary prudence, fiduciary responsibility, fiduciary risk management, fiduciary standard, retirement plans, risk management
Leave a comment
2Q 2022 AMVR “Cheat Sheets”
At the end of each calendar quarter, I perform a forensic AMVR fiduciary prudence analysis on the non-index mutual funds within the top 10 funds in U.S. defined contribution plans, as ranked by “Pensions & Investments.” InvestSense provides both a … Continue reading
Posted in 401k, 401k investments, Active Management Value Ratio, AMVR, asset allocation, best interest, 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 standard, investment advisers, investments, Mutual funds, pension plans, plan sponsors, prudence, risk management, wealth management, wealth preservation
Tagged 401k, 401k compliance, 404c compliance, ERISA, fiduciary, fiduciary investing, fiduciary law, investment advisers, retirement plans
Leave a comment
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
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 401k, 401k compliance, 404c compliance, compliance, ERISA, fiduciary, fiduciary investing, fiduciary law, plansponsors, retirement plans, trustees, trusts, trusts and estates
4 Comments
The Prudent Investment Fiduciary Rules 
You must be logged in to post a comment.