The ERISA consultants at the Retirement Learning Center Resource regularly receive calls from financial advisors on a broad array of technical topics related to IRAs, qualified retirement plans and executive compensation arrangements.A recent call with an advisor in Illinois is representative of a... READ MORE

There’s only one event that advisors in the retirement plan industry consider a “must-attend.”On April 15-17, 1,200 advisors representing more than 175 broker dealers and independent RIAs will join over 150 sponsors and exhibitors for the 2018 NAPA 401(k) SUMMIT & Country Music Festival. This... READ MORE

Total fund-level institutional investment management fees were mostly unchanged in 2016 compared to historical observations, new research suggests, running counter to the common narrative describing widespread fee compression across the industry.Callan’s seventh installment of its Investment... READ MORE

First, do no harm. A term commonly applied to the practice of medicine, but a recent blog post by FiduciaryNews’ Christopher Carosa applies it to fiduciary practices.In “Fiduciary Standard Quandary: First Avoid ‘Harm’onization,” Carosa argues that while the DOL fiduciary rule may be fairly... READ MORE

Today the National Association of Plan Advisors launches our fourth annual campaign to identify the best of the next generation of advisors: NAPA’s “Young Guns.”To be eligible for this year’s list, individuals had to be nominated by a NAPA BD/RIA Firm Partner. As we did last year, to be eligible... READ MORE

A recent report by the GAO paints a pretty bleak picture of American retirement. Is it accurate?For the most part, the report covered familiar ground, bemoaning the “marked shift” away from the traditional defined benefit pension plan (glossing over how few private sector workers were covered by... READ MORE

While much of our focus on the current House and Senate tax bills has been on the retirement-related provisions, there are a number of provisions worth noting that would alter the existing tax treatment of executive compensation and various other compensation and benefit provisions.As we reported,... READ MORE

In a big win for the lobbying efforts of the American Retirement Association’s Government Affairs Committee (GAC), the IRS has dropped a series of compliance questions from the 2017 Form 5500.The announcement came along with the release of advance informational copies of the 2017 Form 5500 from the... READ MORE

Wells Fargo – one of the few providers to date to prevail in a proprietary fund suit – once again finds itself in the litigation crosshairs.The lawsuit (Wayman v. Wells Fargo & Co., D. Minn., No. 0:17-cv-05153-PJS-KMM, complaint filed 11/17/17), filed last week in a Minnesota federal court,... READ MORE

Following light trading the previous month, October saw a moderate increase in trading among DC plan investors, according to the Alight Solutions 401(k) Index.“Trading activity remained light in October, following the trend we have seen throughout 2017. In general, 401(k) investors seem content... READ MORE

If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again seems to be the motto used in a new class action lawsuit filed against New York University alleging breach of fiduciary duties for excessive plan fees in the school’s retirement plans.This new, 129-page filing (Sacerdote v. NYU Langone Hosps., S.D.N.Y... READ MORE