In the world of retirement plans, some stories feel like déjà vu with a fresh set of dollar signs. The latest lawsuit filed by former participant Brian Byrne against TIAA and its associated retirement plans is no exception....more
The Fifth Circuit recently reversed a district court’s dismissal of claims that the fiduciaries of a 401(k) plan breached the duty of prudence under ERISA by offering participants retail share classes instead of cheaper...more
Albert Einstein is famously credited with saying, "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results." This adage comes to mind as defense counsel continue to resort to the same strategies for...more
On Friday, for the second week in a row, the Ninth Circuit reversed dismissal of a 401(k) plan excessive fee litigation challenging the offering of retail share classes of mutual funds instead of cheaper institutional share...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 Sacerdote v. New York University, a class of university employees who participated in Defendant’s 403(b) plans brought ERISA breach of fiduciary duty claims against Defendant, challenging the administration of its...more
We are actively looking for circumstances where an adviser is financially conflicted by incentives that could affect investment recommendations to clients. ... And I will tell you: the more we look, the more undisclosed or...more
This is the eleventh in a series of articles about Best Practices for Plan Sponsors. To be clear, “best practices” are not the same as legal requirements. Instead, they are about better ways to manage retirement plans. In...more
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini examined allegations brought by members of a company’s 403(b) retirement savings plan that the plan fiduciaries violated their duties by selecting and failing to replace higher-cost...more
Best Practices: Lessons Learned from Litigation (#2)—the Vanderbilt Case - I am writing two series of articles that together are called “The Bests.” One is about Best Practices for Plan Sponsors, while the other is about...more
A good chunk of my work as an ERISA attorney is working with financial advisory firms in managing their retirement plan practice especially with 401(k) plans. I have many registered investment advisory clients around the...more
When it comes to mutual funds offered under 401(k) plans, I’ve always believed that the multiple share classes was something out of an alphabet soup. I’m not an advisor, so I don’t know how or why there is so many share...more
A well-respected registered investment advisor was recently named as a defendant in a class-action lawsuit against a $1 billion 401(k) plan. I’m not going to cite the particulars and I’m not going to opine because a...more