PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - New IRS Guidance on SECURE 2.0 Act Student Loan Employer Contributions
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - ERISA Forfeiture Litigation
La Reforma Pensional en Colombia
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Understanding Lifetime Income Products
Multiemployer Pension Plans in Mergers and Acquisitions — Troutman Pepper Podcast
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Trends in Recordkeeper Consolidation and Due Diligence
Long-Term Part-Time Employee Eligibility Rules Now in Effect — Troutman Pepper Podcast
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - What the J&J Case Means for Plan Administrators
#WorkforceWednesday: SECURE 2.0 Act - Navigating New Retirement Plan Provisions in 2024 - Employment Law This Week®
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - SECURE 2.0: Leveraging Opportunities Employees Want Most
What Can A Tax Attorney Do For You? A Podcast With Janathan Allen
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Understanding Fees in Retirement Planning
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - ESG Investing by Retirement Plans
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - New Federal Rule Aims to Hold Investment Advisors to a Higher Standard
Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation: Getting Ready for 2024 - Health and Welfare Plan Developments — Special Edition Podcast
Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation: Getting Ready for 2024 - Qualified Plans — Special Edition Podcast
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Auto-Portability: A New Way to Keep Retirement Savings Growing
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - IRS 2024 Health Plan Affordability Threshold May Put Some at Risk
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Partial Plan Terminations
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Virginia Launches New Retirement Savings Program
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently approved applications from large investment firms to offer spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Retail investors can now buy bitcoin ETFs on traditional...more
Despite my concerns about allowing crypto options in 401(k) plans, that issue will be back for us. As Bitcoin is at $37,000 and rising, there is expected approval of Bitcoin Exchange Traded Funds....more
Thanks to litigation, the Securities and Exchange Commission will likely approve a few Bitcoin-centric exchange-traded funds. That begs the question, will those ETFs be allowed as investments within 401(k) plans?...more
While technology makes it easier for bad actors to steal the retirement assets of plan participants, it’s far easier to steal from 401(k) plans with crypto investments. 401(k) plans that have Bitcoin investments would have a...more
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published guidance earlier this year warning fiduciaries who administer retirement plans to “exercise extreme care” when considering whether to include cryptocurrency as a plan investment...more
I keep on saying that timing is everything and with Bitcoin falling about 60% off its high, this isn’t the time for adding it to 401(k) plans. In May, Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) introduced a bill that would allow Bitcoin and...more
In the 1970s, the Phillie Phanatic was born. While Mr. Met was the first mascot in baseball history, the Phanatic was a bigger hit. Soon everyone wanted one and The New York Yankees hired the people to design the mascot,...more
The problem with offering participants direction of investments is participants themselves. As a whole, they make poor investment decisions and exhibit poor timing. So that is just another reason why Bitcoin and 401(k) plans...more
The Department of Labor criticized Fidelity Investments’ plan to allow investors to put bitcoin in their 401(k) accounts....more
Late last month, Fidelity Investments created a minor firestorm when it announced that it would allow retirement plan sponsors to offer bitcoin as an investment option for participants. In reaction to this move, the...more
On March 10, 2022, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued a Compliance Assistance Release (the “Release”) addressing its views on the availability of cryptocurrencies on 401(k) investment platforms. This guidance comes...more
Fidelity Investments recently announced that it will offer its 401(k) plan clients the opportunity to offer bitcoin as a 401(k) plan investment option later this year. While this may sound intriguing to some plan fiduciaries...more
In Compliance Assistance Release No. 2022-01 (the “Release”), the Department of Labor (the “Department”) signaled its intention to scrutinize inclusion of cryptocurrency assets and crypto-derivative products as investments in...more
Investments in Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum are becoming more and more mainstream. Driven by outrageous returns, and presenting outrageous volatility and risk, both traditional institutional and individual...more
A large U.S.-based financial services company launched its crypto services arm last week, providing consumers with a platform to buy and sell cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). According to reports, the...more
A few weeks back, I offered my two cents on Bitcoin (and other crypto-currency) and why I thought they would be lousy investments in a 401(k) plan....more
Because volatility’s the name of the game whenever we’re talking cryptos, it’s hard to be too shocked by the news that last week’s banner Coinbase public market debut gave way to a digital currency walkback this weekend that...more
Over the 30 years of investing, I have seen nothing like my investment in bitcoin and other digital currencies. There have been swings of more than 10% a day and I’m up over 100% since first starting investing this summer....more
In the News. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking to create a new category of “seasoned” qualified mortgages; the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Office of...more
A report released by cybersecurity firm Agari has come to conclusion that we have been experiencing all year—a hacking group in Nigeria, dubbed “London Blue,” is targeting CFOs and controllers from small businesses to...more
Editor's Note - No Short-Term Fixes. On February 3, President Trump signed an Executive Order and a Presidential Memorandum intended to provide a framework to “roll back” the Dodd-Frank Act (Dodd-Frank) and to review the...more
Ratings Agency Moody’s Corp. has agreed to pay roughly $864 million to resolve federal and state claims that it gave juiced ratings to risky MBS in the run-up to the financial crisis. Half of the total will end up in DOJ...more