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Recordkeeping Requirements Fiduciary Duty

Proskauer - Employee Benefits & Executive...

Massachusetts District Court Permits 403(b) Plan Fiduciary Breach Claims to Proceed

A federal district court in Massachusetts recently denied a motion to dismiss a complaint filed by plan participants in the Cape Cod Healthcare, Inc. 403(b) plan, which alleged that the plan’s fiduciaries breached their ERISA...more

Warner Norcross + Judd

Final Fiduciary Rule — Part 3: Amendments to PTEs 84-24, 75-1, 77-4, 80-83, 83-1 and 86-128

Warner Norcross + Judd on

On April 25, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) released regulations redefining who is an investment advice fiduciary under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and the Internal Revenue Code...more

Proskauer - Employee Benefits & Executive...

Massachusetts District Court Grants Motion to Dismiss 401(k) Fiduciary Breach and Prohibited Transaction Claims

A federal district court in Massachusetts dismissed ERISA fiduciary breach and prohibited transaction claims against 401(k) plan fiduciaries, ruling that the prohibited transaction claims were time-barred and the fiduciary...more

Morrison & Foerster LLP

Investment Adviser Compliance Index - March 2024

The Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (the “Advisers Act”) is a relatively compact statute, and for many years the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted relatively few regulations specifically targeting Advisers Act...more

Adams and Reese LLP

Operation Litigation: Top Tips if Your Business is Threatened with a Lawsuit

Adams and Reese LLP on

We continue to provide legal resources for our military veterans returning to the workplace in our monthly “Vets to Ventures” series. Previously, we have discussed how skills acquired in the military translate into becoming a...more

Proskauer - Employee Benefits & Executive...

Second Circuit Establishes Practical Pleading Requirement for Prohibited Transaction Claims Under ERISA Section 406(a)(1)(C)

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

Lowenstein Sandler LLP

The SEC’s Private Fund Adviser Rules Explained — Part 1: The Restricted Activities Rule

Lowenstein Sandler LLP on

On August 23, 2023, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted new and amended rules under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended (the Advisers Act), to address what it perceives as certain conflicts...more

Proskauer - Employee Benefits & Executive...

Ninth Circuit: Changes to a Services Agreement Require Consideration of Indirect Compensation

A recent Ninth Circuit decision has generated considerable controversy amongst employee benefits practitioners by holding that plan fiduciaries engaged in prohibited transactions when they amended the plan’s existing...more

Dechert LLP

SEC Proposes New Regulatory Framework for Use of AI by Broker-Dealers and Investment Advisers

Dechert LLP on

The SEC has proposed new rules designed to regulate potential conflicts of interest associated with broker-dealers’ and investment advisers’ use of certain AI-related technologies in their interactions with investors. The...more

Proskauer - Employee Benefits & Executive...

Two District Courts Reach Conflicting Holdings Over Excessive Recordkeeping Fee Claims

Two District Courts have reached conflicting decisions on the same day when ruling on substantially similar allegations that plan fiduciaries violated ERISA by paying too much for recordkeeping services, with one court...more

Proskauer - The Capital Commitment

Messaging Missteps: SEC’s Increasing Focus on Off-Channel Communications

The SEC’s Enforcement Division is conducting a sweep investigation of large investment advisers regarding their employees’ use of “off-channel” communications. The sweep, which has been widely reported in the press, focuses...more

Proskauer - Employee Benefits & Executive...

Northwestern University’s Alternative Explanations Not Strong Enough To Defeat ERISA Excessive Fee Claims

On remand from the U.S. Supreme Court, the Seventh Circuit issued its opinion in Hughes v. Northwestern University, concluding that participants in two Northwestern 403(b) plans plausibly pled fiduciary-breach claims based on...more

Dorsey & Whitney LLP

Excessive Recordkeeping Fee Claim Squeaks by a Motion to Dismiss

Dorsey & Whitney LLP on

A federal court in Wisconsin recently allowed a putative ERISA class action in Lucero v. Credit Union Ret. Plan Ass’n to proceed to discovery on the claim that a 401(k) plan paid excessive recordkeeping fees. This decision...more

Proskauer - Employee Benefits & Executive...

District Courts Reach Opposite Conclusions on 401(k) Excessive Fee Claims

A district court in the Southern District of Ohio and one in the Western District of Wisconsin reached opposite conclusions on motions to dismiss claims for fiduciary breach based on allegations that recordkeeping fees were...more

Proskauer - Employee Benefits & Executive...

New York District Court Rejects ERISA Excessive Fee Claims as Insufficient

A district court in New York recently dismissed a putative class action challenging retirement plan recordkeeping and investment management fees. The case is Singh v. Deloitte LLP, No. 21-cv-8458, 2023 WL 186679 (S.D.N.Y....more

Proskauer - Employee Benefits & Executive...

Eighth Circuit Joins Growing Number of Courts Rejecting Common ERISA Fee and Investment Claims

In Matousek v. MidAmerican Energy Co., 2022 WL 6880771, __ F.4th __ (8th Cir. 2022), the Eighth Circuit joined the Sixth and Seventh Circuits in affirming dismissal of ERISA breach of fiduciary duty claims alleging that the...more

Proskauer - Employee Benefits & Executive...

Two District Courts in the Seventh Circuit Grapple with Pleading Standards in ERISA Excessive Fee Cases

In Baumeister v. Exelon, No. 21-cv-6505, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 176711 (N.D. Ill. Sep. 22, 2022) and Coyer v. Univar Sols. USA Inc., No. 22-cv-362, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 175972 (N.D. Ill. Sep. 28, 2022), two Illinois district...more

Lowenstein Sandler LLP

Plan Fiduciaries, Including Investment Advisers and Fund Managers, Take Note – U.S. Department of Labor Proposes Enhanced QPAM...

On July 26, 2022, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) released a proposed amendment to Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 84-14, known as the Qualified Professional Asset “Manager” (QPAM) exemption. ...more

Jackson Lewis P.C.

DOL, Recordkeeper Square Off in Confidentiality Disputes

Jackson Lewis P.C. on

The DOL’s cybersecurity investigation into Alight Solutions, LLC, a retirement plan recordkeeper, has queued up court rulings on the reach of the DOL’s subpoena power that may have important implications for ERISA plan...more

Foodman CPAs & Advisors

U.S. Department Of Labor Has “Serious Concerns” Over 401(K) Plan’s Investments In Cryptocurrencies

The U.S. Department of Labor cautions plan fiduciaries to exercise extreme care before they consider adding a cryptocurrency option to a 401(k) plan’s investment menu for plan participants....more

ArentFox Schiff

Supreme Court Set To Rule This Spring on ERISA Investment Fees, Affecting Over 150 Cases Around the Country

ArentFox Schiff on

The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument to decide a circuit split and determine what ERISA requires of ERISA-governed pension plan fiduciaries with respect to investment fees and recordkeeping. A decision is expected in...more

Jackson Lewis P.C.

Supreme Court Struggles to Apply “Twiqbal” in Retirement Plan Fee Cases

Jackson Lewis P.C. on

Monday, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Hughes v. Northwestern University, No. 19-1401, just one of about 150 similar class action suits filed around the country in the last few years. The case was brought by...more

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

Lessons Learned from Recent Fiduciary Victories

There is nothing a plan sponsor or ERISA fiduciary can do to prevent allegations of fiduciary breach; however, there are many things they can do to be prepared to rebut such claims. Unfortunately, because of “headline news,”...more

Proskauer - Employee Benefits & Executive...

District Court Dismisses Investment and Recordkeeping Claims Against 401(k) Plan Fiduciaries

A Kentucky federal district court ruled that a participant in CommonSpirit Health’s 401(k) plan failed to state plausible claims for breach of fiduciary duty related to the fees and performance of actively managed target date...more

Morgan Lewis - ML Benefits

DOL ‘Encourages’ Retirement Plan Fiduciaries to Recoup Uncashed Checks from Prior Recordkeepers

The focus of the US Department of Labor (DOL) on missing participants and uncashed checks (discussed in our LawFlash DOL Guidance on Missing Participants Is No Longer Missing) recently began expanding into the area of...more

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