News & Analysis as of

Employee Benefits Investment Management Financial Services Industry

Ballard Spahr LLP

Executive Order Seeks to Expand Access to Crypto and Private Investments in Defined-Contribution Plans

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On August 7, 2025, President Trump issued an executive order (the Order) instructing federal agencies to expand access to alternative asset investments for participants in defined-contribution retirement plans such as 401(k)...more

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

July finalizes another purchase

In the retirement plan industry, acquisitions aren’t just about numbers—they’re about narrative. And with its seventh deal in two years, July Business Services (JULY) is writing a very clear one: they’re not just growing,...more

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

The Problem of Organizational Drift For 401(k) Plan Providers

I enjoy business history and why certain businesses and organizations fail. I knew Sears and Blockbuster Video would fail, years ahead of time. I knew the synagogue where I was a member and where my son had his bris, would...more

Hall Benefits Law

SCOTUS Revives Cornell 403b Lawsuit: What Fiduciaries Must Know

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Fiduciaries must treat plan management as an active compliance obligation to avoid legal exposure, says a Hall Benefits Law practitioner. On April 17, 2025, the US Supreme Court issued a unanimous per curiam opinion in...more

Polsinelli

DOL Rescinds 2022 Guidance Concerning Cryptocurrency Investments in 401(k) Plans

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On May 28, 2025, the Department of Labor (DOL) rescinded its 2022 guidance that cautioned retirement plan fiduciaries to exercise “extreme care” in permitting cryptocurrency and other digital asset investments in retirement...more

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

The death of the department store should clue you in about the 401(k) business

The department store has been a dying business for 50 years. That’s not hyperbole—it’s a fact. Ever since the rise of the shopping mall, the explosion of discount retailers like Walmart and Target, and now online shopping,...more

Troutman Pepper Locke

Texas Federal Court Allows an ERISA Fiduciary Challenge Against Alleged "ESG Investing" Without Any ESG Funds

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On January 10, 2025, in Spence v. American Airlines, a federal district court in Texas ruled that American Airlines (the company) and the committee overseeing its 401(k) plans (the committee) breached their duty of loyalty...more

Carlton Fields

Considerations for Plan Sponsors in the Wake of Cunningham v. Cornell

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Excessive fee cases against plans governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) have been on the rise for the last decade. ERISA litigation is expanding with novel theories such as forfeiture litigation....more

Carlton Fields

Expect Focus - Volume II, May 2025

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Builder of Investment Models Deviates From Blueprints Employee’s Rogue Remodeling Costs Builder Plenty - The SEC’s recent order instituting administrative and cease-and-desist proceedings (OIP) against registered...more

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

401GO partners with Mesirow

401GO has partnered with Mesirow to provide outsourced 3(38) fiduciary services to its clients. Mesirow’s 3(38) fiduciary services will be integrated into the 401GO retirement platform, making them available to approximately...more

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

The Intangibles You Need To Succeed In The 401(k) Business

The most disappointing part of going to law school was the lack of practicality. Sure, it helps you think like a lawyer and teach you the basics of the law, it never helped with becoming a successful lawyer or how to draw a...more

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

Merit buys Sanctuary Wealth

Merit Financial Advisors, a financial advisory firm based in Georgia, recently announced its acquisition of Sanctuary Wealth Management, LLC, and Fiduciary Services, LLC. This deal will enable Merit to establish a presence in...more

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

You can’t sell Betamax in a VHS World

A plan provider once asked me if I had written a comprehensive article on why trustee-directed 401(k) plans are superior to participant-directed plans. Although I believe in this argument, I haven’t actually written such an...more

A&O Shearman

Texas District Court ESG ruling has broader implications for ERISA plan fiduciaries

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On January 10, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas (the “Court”) held, in Spence v. American Airlines, Inc., that American Airlines (“American”) and the American Airlines Employee Benefits...more

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

Sageview buys OnTrack 401(k)

SageView Advisory Group has announced its acquisition of OnTrack 401(k), based in Frederick, Maryland....more

K&L Gates LLP

QPAM Amendments Impact on CITs: What Banks and Their Advisers Need to Know

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Effective 17 June 2024, the US Department of Labor (DOL) adopted comprehensive amendments to Prohibited Transaction Exemption (PTE) 84-14, also known as the “QPAM exemption” (Exemption)....more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

The Department of Labor’s Expanded Cybersecurity Guidance: What ERISA Plan Sponsors and Fiduciaries Need to Know

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On September 6, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued Compliance Assistance Release No. 2024-01, titled “Cybersecurity Guidance Update.” The updated guidance clarifies that the DOL cybersecurity guidance applies to...more

Mayer Brown

The Pensions Brief - July 2024

Mayer Brown on

ESG – compliance review findings - The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has published the findings from its review of how trustees are complying with their wider ESG duties. The review concludes that while 99% of trustees of...more

Carlton Fields

DOL Fiduciary Rule Saga Continues: 2024 Fiduciary Rule Halted by Texas District Courts

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The Federation of Americans for Consumer Choice v. Department of Labor case was the first case challenging the Department of Labor’s 2024 retirement security rule defining who is an investment advice fiduciary. It was...more

Pullman & Comley, LLC

It’s Not Spam: Why Your Retirement Plan Vendor May Be Trying to Get Your Attention (and Why You Should Respond)

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The Secure 2.0 Act of 2022 authorizes numerous new provisions that employers can choose to include or exclude in the retirement plans they sponsor. Recently, retirement plan vendors (vendors) have been sending communications...more

Polsinelli

New Final Department of Labor Rules on Investment Advice are Immediately Challenged in Court

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The U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) recently issued final, new regulations (the “rules”) regarding who is considered an investment advice fiduciary that are slated to become generally effective on September 23, 2024, as well...more

K&L Gates LLP

QPAM Exemption Amendment—Key Takeaways and Action Steps for Advisors and Other Stakeholders

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Executive Summary - Many investment advisers and other financial institutions rely on the Department of Labor’s QPAM Exemption when providing services to, and transacting with, employer-sponsored retirement plans, individual...more

Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck

Fiduciary Rule 4.0 Released

On April 23, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published the “Retirement Security Rule: Definition of an Investment Advice Fiduciary,” which makes changes to the definition of “ fiduciary” for purposes of the Employee...more

A&O Shearman

DOL Issues Final Rule Amending QPAM Exemption

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On April 3, 2024, the Department of Labor (DOL) released its final rule amending Prohibited Transaction Exemption 84-14 (PTE 84-14). PTE 84-14 exempts from ERISA’s prohibited transaction rules certain transactions between...more

Williams Mullen

PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - New Federal Rule Aims to Hold Investment Advisors to a Higher Standard

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On this episode of Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion, host Brydon DeWitt is joined by Ali Pino, a principal and retirement plan consultant with Spherient Advisors, who discusses the proposed Department of Labor rule...more

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