Cornerstone Research Experts in Focus: Jules van Binsbergen
NOWOTNY KNOWS SQUAT! Helping Financial Advisors Build a Clientele and Assets Under Management (AUM)!
NOWOTNY KNOWS SQUAT! Helping Financial Advisors Build a Clientele and Asset Under Management (AUM)!
Podcast: Federal Court Rejects Mutual Fund Fee Claims and Recognizes Market Realities
Thomson Reuters Session 2: Investment Management, Hedge Funds and Registered Mutual Funds: What's Happening Now?
Cole-Frieman & Mallon partner/co-founder Bart Mallon Discusses CFTC Regulation 4.5, the Volcker Rule & Other Compliance Issues
A California district court recently denied a motion to dismiss claims that the fiduciaries of a 401(k) plan breached their ERISA fiduciary duties of prudence and loyalty by selecting underperforming, high-cost investments...more
In Boal v International Capital Management Inc.(“Boal”), the Ontario Court of Appeal (the “Court”) considered the pleading requirements for certification of a breach of fiduciary duty cause of action. In holding that it was...more
The Second Circuit recently held that in order to state a claim for a prohibited transaction pursuant to ERISA section 406(a)(1)(C), it is not enough to allege that a fiduciary caused the plan to compensate a service provider...more
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Examinations announced its examination priorities for fiscal year 2024 on October 16, 2023. The timing of the announcement is significant because it is the...more
Since late July, at least 10 lawsuits have been filed against large 401(k) plan sponsors that offer certain BlackRock Inc. target-date funds (TDF) among their investment options. In an unexpected pivot away from the 401(k)...more
The Sixth Circuit recently issued a mixed opinion in a 401(k) plan investment litigation. The Court upheld the dismissal of the plaintiffs’ fiduciary-breach claims relating to the investment management fees and performance...more
On Friday, the Ninth Circuit became the first circuit court to rule in a 401(k) plan fee and investment litigation following the Supreme Court’s January 2022 decision in Hughes v. Northwestern University, 142 S. Ct. 737...more
In the first decision since the Supreme Court’s ruling in Hughes v. Northwestern Univ., No. 19-1401, 595 U.S. ___ (U.S. Jan. 24, 2022), a Georgia federal district court held in favor of plaintiffs and declined to dismiss...more
I’m still amazed when I find participant-directed 401(k) plans without a financial advisor. While I understand how solo 401(k) plans don’t have an advisor because individuals think they can do it on their own, it makes no...more
Mutual of Omaha Insurance Co. and its subsidiary United of Omaha has agreed to settle Mutual of Omaha’s 401(k) plan over allegations of self-dealing....more
Fidelity Investments settled a class-action lawsuit regarding its own 401(k) plan for $28.5 million. The class-action case alleged that Fidelity breached its fiduciary responsibility to plan participants by including its...more
The Department of Labor (DOL) released some new guidance that might facilitate the inclusion of private equity (PE) exposure in participant-directed defined contribution (DC) plans ERISA. The guidance contemplates the...more
A settlement has been in a lawsuit accusing fiduciaries of the JPMorgan Chase 401(k) Savings Plan of self-dealing. Records show that a settlement of $9 million will be made to “fully, finally and forever resolve, discharge...more
I am still how often I find participant-directed 401(k) plans without a financial advisor. While I understand how solo 401(k) plans don’t have an advisor because individuals think they can do it on their own. I have a solo...more
On March 30, 2020, 10 years to the day after the Supreme Court issued its decision in Jones v. Harris, 559 U.S. 335 (2010), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit issued the first published federal appellate decision...more
Key Takeaways - Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals reaffirms that comparison of advisory fees to subadvisory fees is “inapt” under Jones v. Harris Assocs., relying on undisputed evidence of differences in services and risks. ...more
Several highly publicized lawsuits were brought against the Fidelity organization in 2019 in connection with Fidelity’s receipt of “infrastructure fees” from mutual fund families and other investment providers made available...more
On September 27, 2019, following a two-week bench trial, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York dismissed an action brought by mutual fund shareholders under Section 36(b) of the Investment Company Act...more
One of my favorite sayings is that you should never make yourself a target, but when you are a mutual fund company and you use your own proprietary funds as an investment option in your 401(k) plan, you are certainly a target...more
The staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Division of Investment Management released frequently asked questions (FAQs) on October 18, 2019, which discuss certain compensation arrangements and related...more
Over the past several years, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) enforcement activity has eroded the stability of the once-standard lineup of share classes available to mutual fund investors. Starting with...more
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York issued a comprehensive post-trial ruling on September 30, 2019 in Chill v. Calamos Advisors LLC, holding that Plaintiffs failed to meet their burden to show that...more
On Aug. 1, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC) charged Commonwealth Equity Services LLC, dba Commonwealth Financial Network (Commonwealth), a registered independent investment adviser to private clients (but not...more
REGULATORY UPDATES - Investors Continue to Press Regulators for Disclosure of Environmental, Social, and Governance (“ESG”) Risks...more
In a strong opinion, a federal court in the Southern District of New York recently dismissed a suit alleging that the defendant charged “excessive” fees to a mutual fund....more