On January 24, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled in Hughes v. Northwestern University that establishing and offering a broad range of investment options for a participant-directed retirement plan does not ensure...more
1/26/2022
/ 401k ,
403(b) Plans ,
Duty of Prudence ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Hughes v. Northwestern University ,
Investment Management ,
Plan Participants ,
Retirement Plan ,
Tibble v Edison Int
Last week, the U.S. Department of Labor (the "DOL") on December 21, 2021 issued a supplement (the “2021 Supplement”) to a June 2020 Information Letter (the "2020 Information Letter") that had addressed the possible use of...more
12/28/2021
/ 401k ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Products ,
Information Letters ,
Investment ,
Investment Management ,
Private Equity ,
Retirement Plan
The U.S. Department of Labor (the “DOL”) on October 14, 2021, released a new Proposed Regulation (the “Proposed Regulation”) generally relating to the prudence and loyalty duties under the fiduciary rules of the Employee...more
Overview The U.S. Department of Labor (the “DOL”) on December 15, 2020 issued a release (the “Release”) finalizing Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption (“PTCE”) 2020-2 (the “Final Exemption”) for retirement accounts...more
1/20/2021
/ Best Interest Standard ,
Biden Administration ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Management ,
Regulation BI ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Retirement Plan ,
Rollover Equity
Last week, the U.S. Department of Labor (the “DOL”) on December 15, 2020 issued a release (the “Release”) finalizing an important new initiative for retirement accounts (“Plans”) that are subject to the Employee Retirement...more
Overview -
At the end of last week, on December 11, 2020, the Department of Labor (the “DOL”) released a Final Rule, Fiduciary Duties Regarding Proxy Voting and Shareholder Rights (the “Final Rule”), which addresses the...more
This OnPoint is the first in a series that will examine important trends and developments in class action litigation under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). Here, we look at the current litigation...more
11/20/2020
/ Article III ,
Breach of Duty ,
Class Action ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
ESOP ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
FIfth Third Bancorp v Dudenhoeffer ,
Intel Corp. Investment Policy Committee v. Sulyma ,
Investment Management ,
Retirement Plan ,
Standing ,
Stock Drop Litigation ,
Thole v U.S. Bank
The U.S. Department of Labor (the “DOL”) on October 30, 2020 released a final regulation (the “Final Regulation”) relating to the consideration of non-pecuniary factors by fiduciaries of employee benefit plans (“Plans”) that...more
The U.S. Department of Labor (the “DOL”) on August 31, 2020 proposed a regulation (the “Proposed Proxy Regulation”) that would apply to how fiduciaries under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”)...more
9/19/2020
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Duty of Loyalty ,
Duty of Prudence ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Popular ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Proxy Voting ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholder Rights ,
Trump Administration
This week, on June 29, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (the “DOL”) issued a release (the “Release”) proposing an important new initiative for retirement accounts (“Plans”) that are subject to the Employee Retirement Income...more
Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on June 1, 2020 in Thole v. U.S. Bank that a participant in a defined benefit (“DB”) plan is constitutionally barred from bringing a fiduciary-breach (or similar) claim under the...more
6/11/2020
/ Article III ,
Breach of Duty ,
Defined Benefit Plans ,
Duty of Loyalty ,
Duty of Prudence ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Injury-in-Fact ,
Investment Adviser ,
Mismanagement ,
Pensions ,
Plan Participants ,
Retirement Plan ,
SCOTUS ,
Standing ,
Thole v U.S. Bank
The U.S. Department of Labor (the "DOL") this week, on June 4, 2020, issued an Information Letter (the "Letter") regarding the use of private equity ("PE") investments in investment options offered under participant-directed...more
A substantial portion of available global investment capital is held under private U.S. pension and other employee benefit plans governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”). At the same time, for...more
5/16/2020
/ Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Field Assistance Bulletins ,
Investment Management ,
Political Parties ,
Retirement Plan ,
Trump Administration
Under Section 413(2) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”), ERISA’s three-year statute of limitations for fiduciary breaches and certain other violations starts to run when “the plaintiff had actual...more
3/6/2020
/ Actual or Constructive Knowledge ,
Appeals ,
Breach of Duty ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Intel Corp. Investment Policy Committee v. Sulyma ,
Material Disclosures ,
Question of Fact ,
Reaffirmation ,
Retirement Plan ,
Retirement Plan Beneficiaries ,
Reversal ,
SCOTUS ,
Split of Authority ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Summary Judgment
The Delaware Chancery Court rejected an attempt by Tesla’s Board of Directors to dismiss a challenge to CEO Elon Musk’s “extraordinary” 2018 compensation package. Because Musk is also Tesla’s controlling stockholder, the...more
10/21/2019
/ Board of Directors ,
Breach of Duty ,
Burden-Shifting ,
Business Judgment Rule ,
Compensation Committee ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Controlling Stockholders ,
Elon Musk ,
Entire Fairness Standard ,
Executive Compensation ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
MFW ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Ratification ,
Shareholder Litigation ,
Tesla
The upcoming term of the U.S. Supreme Court is shaping up to be a busy one with respect to cases arising under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”). There have been other terms with multiple ERISA...more
10/16/2019
/ Actual or Constructive Knowledge ,
Appeals ,
Breach of Duty ,
Certiorari ,
Class Action ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Defined Benefit Plans ,
Duty of Prudence ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employee Stock Purchase Plans ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Intel Corp. Investment Policy Committee v. Sulyma ,
Investment Funds ,
Overfunded Plans ,
Pleadings ,
Retirement Plan ,
Retirement Plans Committee of IBM v Jander ,
SCOTUS ,
Split of Authority ,
Standard of Review ,
Standing ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Thole v U.S. Bank
In Dorman v. Charles Schwab Corp., the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held on August 20, 2019 that claims under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”) can generally be subject to mandatory...more
9/11/2019
/ 401k ,
American Express v Italian Colors Restaurant ,
Arbitration ,
Best Interest Contract Exemptions ,
Class Action ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Field Assistance Bulletins ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
Putative Class Actions
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, on June 5, 2019, voted 3-1 in favor of adopting a package of rules, amendments and interpretations (Final Rules) intended to improve the retail investor experience and to provide...more
6/12/2019
/ Best Interest Standard ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Compliance ,
Compliance Dates ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Duty of Care ,
Duty of Loyalty ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Form CRS ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
New Rules ,
Regulation Best Interest ,
Retail Investors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Standard of Conduct
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on April 18, 2018 published a package of proposed rules and interpretations intended to improve the retail investor experience and to provide greater clarity regarding customers’...more
7/11/2018
/ Best Interest Standard ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Comment Period ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Due Diligence ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Products ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Retail Investors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Standard of Care
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on March 15, 2018 issued an opinion (Opinion) vacating the Department of Labor (DOL) fiduciary rule and related applicable exemptions. The DOL had promulgated the rule and...more
4/18/2018
/ Appeals ,
Best Interest Standard ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
Investment Adviser ,
Mutual Funds ,
Petition For Rehearing ,
Retirement Funds ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Vacated
The U.S. Department of Labor (the “DOL”) published in the Federal Register on July 6, 2017 a Request for Information (the “RFI”) regarding the final regulation defining who is a “fiduciary” of an employee benefit plan as a...more
7/8/2017
/ Best Interest Contract Exemptions ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Investment Adviser ,
IRS ,
Mutual Funds ,
Presidential Memorandum ,
Prohibited Transactions ,
Public Comment ,
Request For Information ,
Rollbacks ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Trump Administration
The U.S. Department of Labor (the “DOL”), on December 29, 2016, issued Interpretive Bulletin 2016-1 (“IB 2016-1”) under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 ("ERISA") regarding the duties of fiduciaries under...more
The U.S. Department of Labor (the “DOL”) released two additional sets of FAQs on January 13, 2017 regarding the new “investment advice” regulation and related exemptions (the “Rule”) under the fiduciary provisions of the...more
The U.S. Department of Labor issued its long-awaited and highly controversial "investment advice" regulation under ERISA's fiduciary rules on April 6, 2016. The regulation is slated to begin becoming applicable in April 2017....more
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued in April 2016 the final version of its controversial “investment advice” regulation and various related exemptions (collectively, Final Rules), which are widely expected to have a...more
11/18/2016
/ Annuities ,
Asset Management ,
Best Interest Contract Exemptions ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Compensation Agreements ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
Investment Adviser ,
Retirement Plan