The Supreme Court told defined contribution sponsors Monday that they have to monitor all investments in plans’ lineups rather than leave the analysis to participants....more
On Jan. 24, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court vacated the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit’s ruling in Hughes v. Northwestern University, and remanded the case for further consideration, bringing new life to current...more
On Monday, Jan. 24, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an important decision dealing with defined contribution retirement plans. These plans, which include 401(k) plans, provide an array of investment choices from which...more
On Monday, January 24, 2022 the United States Supreme Court issued its much-anticipated opinion in the Hughes, et al. v. Northwestern University, et al. case. Before the Court was the issue of whether Northwestern University...more
On January 24, the U.S. Supreme Court, in a unanimous opinion, ruled in Hughes v. Northwestern University that offering an array of allegedly prudent investment choices within the plan does not serve as a categorial defense...more
In what may be one of the shortest decisions this term, the Supreme Court handed down a unanimous six-page opinion on January 24, 2022 in Hughes v. Northwestern University. Vacating the Seventh Circuit’s decision, the Court...more
On January 24, 2022, in a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court in Hughes v. Northwestern reinstated the long-running case against Northwestern University by sending the case back to the lower courts for further review. ...more
Summary - The U.S. Supreme Court this week unanimously decided an ERISA fiduciary duty case, Hughes v. Northwestern University, which will impact dozens of similar cases currently pending against fiduciaries of section...more
The United States Supreme Court has agreed with participants in two 403(b) plans sponsored by Northwestern University that their lawsuit, alleging that plan recordkeeping and investment fees were excessive, should not have...more
Formally organized retirement plan committees have become the norm in recent years. Retirement plans, particularly 401(k) plans, have increasingly adopted consultant-advised governance structures that include fiduciary...more
In past articles in this Blog I reported on decisions of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals and ultimately the U.S. Supreme Court dealing with a class action for breach of fiduciary duty for selecting retail mutual funds in...more
Editor's Overview - Happy New Year! Because 401(k) plans play an increasingly prominent role as an employee's principal retirement investment vehicle, fiduciaries overseeing those plans face increased pressure to see...more
An employer has fiduciary duties with respect to the 401(k) plan it provides its employees. Those duties include the obligation to choose prudent investment options and to consider the fees associated with service providers...more
It appears court decisions frequently impact retirement plans. Starting with the U.S. Supreme Court, what impact will its recent ruling — confirming the ability of 401(k) participants to challenge high-cost investment options...more
Plan administrators, investment committees and any other plan fiduciary responsible for selectingthe investment options of an employee benefit plan subject to ERISA should take note of the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling in...more
Last November, we reported that the Supreme Court had granted certiorari in Tibble v. Edison International, a Ninth Circuit decision holding that a claim that a plan fiduciary breached its duty of prudence in selecting plan...more
In a marked departure from the overwhelming success employers experienced before the Supreme Court in recent years, the less successful recently wrapped 2014-2015 term could be an indication that the judicial tides may be...more
Welcome to the 2015 Mid-Year Report from the BakerHostetler Securities Litigation and Regulatory Enforcement Practice Team. The purpose is to provide a periodic survey, apart from our team Executive Alerts, on matters we...more
Regulatory Developments: SEC Approves New Debt Research Rule and Amended Equity Research Rule - On July 16, the SEC approved FINRA Rule 2241, which modifies and clarifies existing rules related to research analysts,...more
Regulatory Developments - CFPB Outlines Guiding Principles for Faster Payment Networks: On July 9, the CFPB released an outline of its guiding Consumer Protection Principles (Principles) for protecting consumers as...more
In its Tibble v. Edison International decision the United State Supreme Court confirmed that the scope of an ERISA fiduciary’s duty of prudence continues after initial investments are made and imposes an ongoing duty to...more
Regulatory Developments - Agencies Post Public Sections of Resolution Plans: In a July 6 joint press release, the Federal Reserve Board and FDIC announced that they have posted the public portions of annual...more
During the United States Supreme Court’s 2014-2015 term, the Court departed from the pro-business reputation it had developed in labor and employment cases. This term, employees prevailed more often than not, including in...more
ERISA plan fiduciaries charged with responsibility for selecting, monitoring or removing plan investment options should pay close attention to the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ruling in Tibble v. Edison Intl., 135 S. Ct. 1823...more
Editor's Overview - In this month's newsletter, Anthony Cacace analyzes the heavily anticipated Supreme Court ruling in Tibble v. Edison Intl., 135 S. Ct. 1823 (2015), where the Court held that ERISA's fiduciary duty of...more