Mike Sweeney, a five-time major league baseball all-star, recently filed a suit against his former advisor accusing him of making risky investments without his knowledge and consent. Before Sweeney... Read More
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Technical competence
BY John Ortman | 8/1/2013
As we reported last week, the DOL has delayed enforcement of the 2013 round of 404a-5 participant fee disclosures for six months. The analysts at Relius have released two helpful follow-on resources... Read More
BY Fred Barstein | 8/1/2013
The once-prominent retirement plan advisor and trustee who touted fiduciary standards was sentenced to 17 years in prison by a federal judge in Boise, Idaho. Rejecting Hutcheson’s plea to turn... Read More
BY Fred Barstein | 7/31/2013
Though it’s important, the SEC’s initiative to create a uniform fiduciary rule under Dodd-Frank is not a front burner issue at the Commission. For example, the issue of crowd funding is more... Read More
BY Ray Harmon | 7/29/2013
I was excited to hear that President Obama would be addressing the issue of retirement security in a series of speeches last week focusing on his policy agenda. That is, until I actually heard him do... Read More
BY Andy Stonehouse | 7/26/2013
Feeling a bit like you've got 404a-5 participant fee disclosure overload? You're not alone. But as noted by Legacy Retirement Solutions, the controversial (and paper-heavy) rules are indeed on the... Read More
BY Fred Barstein | 7/26/2013
A federal judge ruled that unions could not go to state court to fight Detroit’s Chapter 9 bankruptcy filing, but they could still argue in federal court that the bankruptcy filing was improper and... Read More
BY Fred Barstein | 7/26/2013
As NAPA’s 1st Annual DC Fly-in Forum approaches, many top DC Congressional leaders and policymakers have agreed to speak, with more expected. Currently the agenda for the September 17-18 meeting... Read More
BY Andrew Remo | 7/25/2013
On Tuesday, July 24, the Aspen Institute’s Initiative on Financial Security organized a briefing for congressional staff to discuss how reforming the tax code could affect the retirement security of... Read More
BY John Carl | 7/24/2013
The ERISA consultants at the Columbia Management Retirement Learning Center Resource Desk regularly receive calls from financial advisors on a broad array of technical topics related to IRAs and... Read More
BY Fred Reish | 7/24/2013
The Office of Management and Budget has posted that it received a proposed regulation from the Department of Labor. Unfortunately, it is not the much-anticipated proposed regulation on fiduciary... Read More
BY Craig Hoffman | 7/23/2013
On July 22, 2013, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) provided relief to plan administrators in the form of Field Assistance Bulletin (“FAB”) 2013-02. The FAB announces a transitional enforcement policy... Read More
BY Fred Barstein | 7/22/2013
Fee disclosure may be ready to hit IRAs. After the recent GAO report that some IRA providers made misleading claims about fees to undercover GAO reps who were posing as people with rollovers, a few... Read More
BY Fred Barstein | 7/19/2013
As part of the deal struck by Senate Democrats with Senate Republicans to fast-track a handful of the president’s nominations, Thomas Perez was confirmed July 18 as the new Secretary of Labor. Perez... Read More
BY Fred Barstein | 7/18/2013
Like most complicated question, the answer is yes and no. It is possible for a plan fiduciary to outsource the administrative reporting and disclosure requirements to a third party under ERISA... Read More
BY Fred Barstein | 7/15/2013
We’re not sure how tall Morningstar’s Adam Zoll is, so we can only assume he is called “the short answer man” because of his brevity — which is always appreciated. This week Zoll tackles the... Read More
BY John Ortman | 7/12/2013
Especially given today’s market volatility and legal environment, plan sponsors are generally looking for ways to manage the risks associated with serving as an ERISA fiduciary — and specifically,... Read More
BY NAPA Net Staff | 7/12/2013
While the popularity of the 401(k) plan has soared in recent years, many investors may not have given much thought to why it works so well. Some factors are within an investor’s control, while others... Read More
BY Don Trone | 7/10/2013
Does “fiduciary” still send tingles down your back, or has the love gone out of the relationship?For more than 26 years I have been teaching retirement advisors that all things warm and wonderful can... Read More
BY Fred Barstein | 7/9/2013
The question of what happens when interest rates rise has a serious impact on stable value funds but, according to comments by leading investment consultants and recent research, plan sponsors are... Read More
BY Brian Graff | 7/8/2013
The uniform fiduciary standard has become a holy grail of sorts for the financial advisor industry. Legends such as John Bogle tout how it is the only way to ensure that the interests of average... Read More
BY Ronald J. Triche | 6/27/2013
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled yesterday that the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is unconstitutional. The Court’s decision in United States v. Windsor means that same-gender marriages must be... Read More
BY Fred Barstein | 6/26/2013
After obtaining permission from the SEC, FINRA will start publishing a monthly report detailing broker complaints and sanctions. The SEC currently has a similar program. Currently, investors can look... Read More
BY Fred Barstein | 6/25/2013
Last December, a judge allowed a lawsuit by Verizon retirees to halt the sale of $7.5 billion or 25% of their DB plan to Prudential to proceed. The suit claimed that the sale wiped out the pensioners... Read More
BY Fred Barstein | 6/17/2013
Revenue sharing is and will continue to be an important issue going forward for DC plans. Shipman Goodwin reviews these issues as well as others that investment committees should consider when... Read More
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