-
Join 235 other subscribers
Meta
-
Recent Posts
- Guest Article On Supreme Court’s Decision to Hear the Intel Case
- Fair Dinkum: A Critique of the EBSA’s Amicus Brief in Pizarro v. Home Depot
- Upon Further Review; The 3 X 3 Analysis That Shows Why Prudent Plan Sponsors Will Never Offer Annuities Within Their Plan
- 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!
The Prudent Investment Adviser Rules
-
Join 235 other subscribers
Tag Archives: fiduciary law
Guest Article On Supreme Court’s Decision to Hear the Intel Case
Several years ago, Chris Tobe, Risk Ferri, and I founded the “The CommonSense 401k Project” web site. The” Project” was created as a means of providing information on fiduciary law and compliance, specifically with regard to ERISA, the primary law … Continue reading
Fair Dinkum: A Critique of the EBSA’s Amicus Brief in Pizarro v. Home Depot
James W. Watkins, III, J.D., CFP EmeritusTM, AWMA® THESIS THE BURDEN OF PROOF ON CAUSATION PROPERLY RESTS WITH THE FIDUCIARY DUE TO ERISA’S REMEDIAL PURPOSE AND STRUCTURAL INFORMATION ASYMMETRY I. ERISA’s Remedial Purpose Requires Burden Allocation That Enables, Not Defeats, … Continue reading
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
The fiduciary duty of loyalty, as delineated in Section 78(3) of the Restatement (Third) of Trusts, imposes a stringent standard on fiduciaries, including plan sponsors and investment fiduciaries. The language “knew or should have known” underscores the expectation that fiduciaries … Continue reading
Closing Argument: Humble Arithmetic, Common Sense, and Fiduciary Liability vs. In-Plan Annuities
“Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.” – John Adams [C]onsistent with fiduciaries’ obligations to choose economically superior investments….[P]lan fiduciaries … Continue reading
Posted in ERISA, ERISA litigation, fiduciary responsibility, fiduciary prudence, fiduciary duties, fiduciary litigation, 401k, 401k plans, plan sponsor, plan sponsors, fiduciary law, fiduciary liability
Tagged 401k, 404c compliance, ERISA, fiduciary law, Fiduciary prudence, fiduciary responsibility, fiduciary riskmanagement, plan sponsor
Leave a comment
“And Their Beneficiaries”: Annuities, Commensurate Return, and Fiduciary Liability
James W. Watkins, III, J.D., CFP EmeritusTM, AWMA® ERISA Section 404a-1 provides as follows: 2550.404a-1 Investment duties. (a) In general. Sections 404(a)(1)(A) and 404(a)(1)(B) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (ERISA or the Act) provide, … Continue reading
Posted in 401k, 401k compliance, 401k investments, 401k litigation, 401k plans, 401k risk management, 401klitigation, 404(a), Active Management Value Ratio, AMVR, Annuities, consumer protection, cost-efficiency, defined contribution, DOL, elderly investment fraud, ERISA, ERISA litigation, ERISA, ERISA litigation, fiduciary responsibility, fiduciary prudence, fiduciary duties, fiduciary litigation, 401k, 401k plans, plan sponsor, plan sponsors, fiduciary law, fiduciary, fiduciary compliance, fiduciary duty, fiduciary law, fiduciary liability, fiduciary liability, Fiduciary prudence, fiduciary prudence, fiduciary responsibility, fiduciary standard, Mutual funds, pension plans, plan sponsors, prudence, retirement planning, retirement plans, risk management, wealth preservation
Tagged 401k 401k plans, Annuities, ERISA, ERISA litigation, fiduciary, fiduciary investing, fiduciary law, fiduciary liability, fiduciary responsibility, fiduciary riskmanagement, investing, investor protection, litigation, personal-finance, plansponsor, plansponsors, retirement, retirement planning
Leave a comment
May It Please the Court: Closing Argument on Palsgraf, Annuities, Commensurate Return and the Future of Fiduciary Litigation
James W. Watkins, III, J.D., CFP EmeritusTM, AWMA® May It Please the Court: In the landmark case of Palsgraf v. Long Island R.R.1, Judge Benjamin Cardozo held that “the risk reasonably to be perceived defines the duty to be obeyed.”2 … Continue reading
Fiduciary Risk Management 101: Mutual Funds
James W. Watkins, III, J.D., CFP EmeritusTM, AWMA® With all the recent SCOTUS decision in Cunningham v. Cornell University1, there has been a lot of discussion about Prohibited Transactions and Prohibited Transaction Exemptions (PTEs). That is understandable; however, it is … Continue reading
Posted in 401k compliance, 401k investments, 401k risk management, Active Management Value Ratio, AMVR, closet index funds, compliance, cost consciousness, cost-efficiency, DOL fiduciary standard, ERISA, fiduciary liability, fiduciary prudence, wealth preservation
Tagged 401k, 401k compliance, compliance, ERISA, fiduciary, fiduciary investing, fiduciary law, fiduciary risk management, Mutual funds, risk management
Leave a comment
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
1 Comment
A Question of Asymmetry and Fundamental Fairness: Observations and Comments from the Oral Arguments in Cunningham v. Cornell University
James W. Watkins, III, J.D., CFP EmeritusTM, AWMA® Listening to the recent oral arguments before SCOTUS in the Cunningham v. Cornell University case, I was both disappointed and encouraged by the questions and comments of some of the Justices. After … Continue reading
Posted in 401k, 401k compliance, 401k litigation, 401k risk management, 401klitigation, 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, retirement plans, risk management, SCOTUS
Tagged 401k, 401k compliance, defined contribution, ERISA, fiduciary, fiduciary law, fiduciary liability, fiduciary risk management, plan sponsors, retirement plans
Leave a comment
2025 Fiduciary Litigation: Common Law + Common Sense?
James W. Watkins, III, J.D., CFP EmeritusTM, AWMA® Looking at the ERISA litigation landscape for 2025, I think there are three clear-cut cases that may shape the future of ERISA litigation and ERISA itself: the ongoing litigation in the Fifth … Continue reading
Posted in 401k, 401k compliance, 401k investments, 401k litigation, 401k plan design, 401k plans, 401k risk management, 401klitigation, Active Management Value Ratio, AMVR, Annuities, consumer protection, cost efficient, cost-efficiency, defined contribution, DOL fiduciary rule, ERISA, ERISA litigation, fiduciary, fiduciary compliance, fiduciary law, fiduciary liability, fiduciary liability, Fiduciary prudence, fiduciary prudence, fiduciary responsibility, fiduciary risk management, fiduciarylitigation, Mutual funds, pension plans, plan advisers, plan sponsors, prudence, retirement plans, risk management, SCOTUS, Supreme Court
Tagged 401k, 401k compliance, Active Management Value Ratio, fiduciary, fiduciary law, fiduciary liability, Fiduciary litigation, Fiduciary prudence, fiduciary responsibilities, fiduciary risk management, fiduciaryliability, retirement plans
Leave a comment
The Prudent Investment Fiduciary Rules 
You must be logged in to post a comment.