As NAPA’s 1st Annual DC Fly-in Forum approaches, many top DC Congressional leaders and policymakers have agreed to speak, with more expected. Currently the agenda for the September 17-18 meeting... Read More
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Litigation
BY Fred Barstein | 7/26/2013
BY Andy Stonehouse | 7/24/2013
While the retirement world continues to wait for some final clarification on the Department of Labor’s ongoing attempts to establish the definition of fiduciary status under ERISA, a few recent cases... Read More
BY NAPA Net Staff | 5/20/2013
By Fred Reish, Bruce Ashton, Joan Neri and Joshua WaldbeserAdvisors have an opportunity to add significant value by helping plan sponsor clients develop a prudent 408(b)(2) disclosure review process... Read More
BY Fred Barstein | 5/16/2013
In case you haven’t been paying close attention, the recent 9th Circuit decision in Tibble v. Edison has major implications — both good and bad — for plan advisors. This is highlighted eloquently in... Read More
BY Fred Barstein | 5/1/2013
A federal district court in Seattle dismissed a motion to dismiss a case brought by current and former employees of Weyerhaeuser against the company and its retirement plan advisor, Morgan Stanley,... Read More
BY NAPA Net Staff | 4/29/2013
There’s a misconception out there that ERISA compliance is really more important for larger businesses. But the fact of the matter is that ERISA has significant implications for organizations of all... Read More
BY Fred Barstein | 4/26/2013
In Santomenno v. Transamerica Life Ins. Co., a case that may have a significant impact on small market insurance record keepers, a federal court in the Central District of California rejected a... Read More
BY NAPA Net Staff | 4/2/2013
There are a number of important lessons for plan sponsors and their advisors in the seminal 9th Circuit Tibble v. Edison decision outlined by the law firm of Trucker Huss. Most importantly, plans... Read More
BY NAPA Net Staff | 3/22/2013
By Stephen M. Saxon and George M. SepsakosOver the last few months, service providers to ERISA covered plans have been following developments in “error correction” practices and the troubling... Read More
BY NAPA Net Staff | 3/22/2013
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed a district court opinion that a plan sponsor was imprudent for including retail mutual funds without investigating the possibility of institutional... Read More
BY Robert J. Rafter | 3/12/2013
The SEC has published a long-awaited 72-page request for information on the costs and benefits of a uniform fiduciary standard for securities brokers and investment advisers providing investment... Read More
BY NAPA Net Staff | 2/25/2013
ERISA budgets are all the rage, allowing plan sponsors to use profits from their providers to pay for plan expenses, including their advisors. But attorney Adam Cantor of Wolff Samson cautions that... Read More
BY NAPA Net Staff | 1/24/2013
Will the DOL eventually require plan fiduciaries to be trained on their duties under ERISA? Though some settlement agreements include this as a condition, no one would argue that it's currently... Read More
BY Jim Farley | 1/17/2013
When all is said and done, if participants are not saving enough to retire comfortably and plan sponsors are not receiving the quality of service they need, it matters little that the Department of... Read More
BY Robert J. Rafter | 1/9/2013
In a post on the DOL’s blog, EBSA’s Phyllis Borzi boasts that the agency “protected or recovered” more than $1.2 billion in FY 2012 “for workers who participate in private-sector employee benefit... Read More
BY NAPA Net Staff | 12/28/2012
In what could be a seminal case for the DC industry, a pretrial conference was scheduled in Minnesota for Jan. 7, 2013 in the suit by Ameriprise DC participants claiming fiduciary breach and... Read More
BY NAPA Net Staff | 12/26/2012
Have you ever been involved with a plan sponsored by a company that's either merging with or acquiring another? Though most advisors “should not try this at home,” it’s good to understand the issues... Read More
BY NAPA Net Staff | 12/14/2012
Are advisors who are not parties in interest or ERISA fiduciaries liable if they knowingly participate in a prohibited transaction and receive compensation from plan assets? The 3rd U.S. Circuit... Read More
BY Robert J. Rafter | 12/10/2012
The Department of Labor will re-propose its controversial rule to amend the definition of fiduciary under ERISA within several months, Phyllis Borzi told Advisor One on Dec. 7. Borzi indicated that... Read More
BY NAPA Net Staff | 12/4/2012
In its recently released 2012 financial report, the SEC indicated that, among other things, it will look to harmonize fiduciary standards for investment advisors and broker dealers that provide the... Read More
BY NAPA Net Staff | 11/27/2012
If you thought lawsuits against 401(k) plans were dead, think again. Renowned plaintiff’s attorney Jerome Schlichter won a battle against Ameriprise when a federal judge in St. Paul, MN refused to... Read More
BY NAPA Net Staff | 11/6/2012
ERISA imposes strict liability on plan sponsors to conduct proper due diligence, yet many are ill prepared to discharge that responsibility. Tim Minard, an SVP at Principal Financial Group, outlines... Read More
BY NAPA Net Staff | 11/2/2012
Political changes resulting from the November 6 elections are unlikely to have a major effect on how critical retirement plan policy decisions are made. Most significantly, decisions about... Read More
BY NAPA Net Staff | 10/26/2012
Think that 401(k) lawsuits are over? Think again. Emboldened by recent successes and armed with more information through the fee disclosure regulations and benchmarking data, plaintiff attorneys’... Read More
BY Fred Barstein | 10/25/2012
Almost all advisors who have worked in the DC market for even a few years acknowledge that they are functional fiduciaries, even if their broker dealer or insurance policy does not allow them to be... Read More
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