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- The Active Management Value Ratio as a Cost-Benefit Framework: Integrating AI into Fiduciary Prudence Analysis
- Battle of the Best Interests – Whose Are the EBSA and the DOL Supposed to Serve, and Whose Are They Really Serving?
- 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
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Tag Archives: Fiduciary litigation
The Active Management Value Ratio as a Cost-Benefit Framework: Integrating AI into Fiduciary Prudence Analysis
James W. Watkins, III, J.D., CFP EmeritusTM, AWMA®InvestSense, LLC I. Executive SummarySeveral years ago, I created a simple metric, the Active Management Value Ratio™ (AMVR). Since studies have shown that people are more visually oriented than verbally oriented, the AMVR … Continue reading
Battle of the Best Interests – Whose Are the EBSA and the DOL Supposed to Serve, and Whose Are They Really Serving?
ThesisThe Employee Benefit Security Administration’s (EBSA) recent shift to interpreting ERISA in terms of procedural prudence to the exclusion of substantive trust law is inconsistent with the stated purpopse and goals of ERISA, as revealed in the Act’s legislative history, … Continue reading
Posted in fiduciary compliance, fiduciary duty, fiduciary prudence, fiduciary prudence, fiduciary law, fiduciary liability, ERISA, fiduciary litigation
Tagged 401k, ERISA, ERISA litigation, fiduciary, fiduciary investing, fiduciary law, fiduciary liability, Fiduciary litigation, plan sponsor, retirement plans
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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
3 Things Prudent Plan Sponsors Must Understand About President’s Trump’s Executive Order and Fiduciary Risk Management
James W. Watkins, III, J.D., CFP EmeritusTM, AWMA® President recently released an excutive order requesting that the DOL and other relevant regulatory bodies create guidelines and other measures, including safe harbors, that would allow plans to offer unnecessarily risk investments, … Continue reading
Posted in ERISA litigation, fiduciary liability, ERISA litigation, fiduciary duty, fiduciary liability, Fiduciary litigation, fiduciary prudence
Tagged 401k, defined contribution, ERISA, ERISA litigation, Executive Order, fiduciary liability, Fiduciary litigation, fiduciary loyalty, fiduciary responsibility, finance, investing, personal-finance, retirement, retirement planning
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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
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
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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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“Sell the Sizzle, Not the Steak”: Annuities, Commensurate Return, and the Fiduciary Duty to Disclose
James W. Watkins, III, J.D., CFP EmeritusTM, AWMA® Fiduciary Duty to Coduct Independent Investigation and EvaluationThe courts have consistently held that plans have a fiduciary duty to conduct an independent and objective investigation and evaluation of the each investment included … Continue reading
Posted in 401k, 401k compliance, 401k investments, 401k litigation, 401k plan design, 401k plans, 401k risk management, 403b, 404c, Annuities, best interest, compliance, consumer protection, defined contribution, 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, investments, pension plans, plan advisers, plan sponsors, prudence, retirement planning, retirement plans, risk management, wealth management, wealth preservation
Tagged 401k, 401k compliance, 404c compliance, compliance, fiducairy risk management, fiduciary, fiduciary investing, fiduciary law, fiduciary liability, Fiduciary litigation, fiduciary loyalty, Fiduciary prudence, fiduciary responsibility, fiduciary risk management, pension plans, retirement plans
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In-Plan Annuities and Fiduciary Risk Management: Guaranteed Income vs. Commensurate Return
James W. Watkins, III, J.D., CFP EmeritusTM, AWMA® A common question I am receiving is “What are the fiduciary liability issues with in-plan annuities?” A reccent LIMRA study found that plan sponsors are citing a desire to provide retirement income … Continue reading
Posted in 401k, 401k risk management, Annuities, consumer protection, 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, pension plans, prudence, risk management
Tagged 401k, ERISA, fiduciary, fiduciary investing, fiduciary law, fiduciary liability, Fiduciary litigation, fiduciary loyalty, Fiduciary prudence, fiduciary responsibility, retirement plans, risk management
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The Prudent Investment Fiduciary Rules 
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