Podcast - An Overview of State Attorney General Consumer Protection Enforcement
The Current State of the Holder Rule: Friend or Foe? — Moving the Metal: The Auto Finance Podcast
Regulatory Rollback: Legal Challenges and Opportunities in Earned-Wage Access — Payments Pros – The Payments Law Podcast
Doc Fees Decoded: The Price of Paperwork in Auto Sales — Moving the Metal: The Auto Finance Podcast
Podcast - New Guidance on Complying with FTC Rule on Deceptive and Unfair Fees
Under the Hood: Exploring the CFPB's 2025 Focus — Moving the Metal: The Auto Finance Podcast
Consumer Finance Monitor Podcast Episode: Private Civil Consumer Financial Services Litigation to Partially Fill CFPB Void - Part 2
Requiem for the Rules: The Rise and Fall of the Junk Fee and CARS Rules — Moving the Metal: The Auto Finance Podcast
The FTC and Connecticut Join Forces for Action Against Nissan Dealer
Consumer Finance Monitor Podcast Episode: A Close Look at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Proposed Rules on Overdraft and Nonsufficient Funds Fees
Consumer Finance Monitor Podcast Episode: The Federal Trade Commission: Looking Back at 2023 and Looking Ahead to 2024 and Beyond
An In-Depth Analysis of the CFPB’s Proposed Overdraft Rule - The Consumer Finance Podcast
The FTC Takes Initiative to Stop Junk Fees
Consumer Finance Monitor Podcast Episode: The Biden Admin “Junk Fees” Initiative Continues: What the Latest Actions Mean for the Consumer Financial Services and Rental Housing Industries, Pt 1
AD Nauseam: Junk Fees Will Keep Us Together
CFPB’s War on Junk Fees - The Consumer Finance Podcast
Recent Tenth Circuit Decision in John Q Hammons Fall Following SCOTUS’ Decision in Siegel v. Fitzgerald Could Result in Significant Refunds for Certain Chapter 11 Debtors
The Constitutionality of Increased Trustee Fees In Bankruptcy
2BInformed: The Future of Fluoride in Drinking Water, the New TSCA Fees Rule, and the Drinking Water Contaminant Candidate List 5
Immigration Insights Podcast: International Entrepreneur Parole Program & Biometrics Requirement
New fees from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) are now on hold until 2027. Our Investment Funds Team examines the new schedule for public offering and private placement reviews....more
Here we go again. Another jumbo 401(k) plan, another lawsuit, another round of alleged fiduciary misconduct that reads like a broken record for those of us who’ve been watching this space since before fee disclosure was a...more
Last month I explored the potential advantages of naming a corporate trustee, acknowledging that the decision is ultimately a matter of personal preference. In this second part of a two-part, “point-counterpoint”...more
A massive new study by Abernathy-Daley covering nearly 58,000 corporate 401(k) plans delivered a simple—but startling—message: virtually every plan suffers from overpriced, underperforming funds. In fact, 99% of plans have at...more
GPs are increasingly exploring formalised co-investment structures in a bid to secure management fees and carried interest. Co-investment activity has increased fivefold over the past two decades, hitting a record $33.2...more
Vanguard’s latest report makes a blunt point: allowing collective investment trusts (CITs) in 403(b) plans could save the median plan participant about 0.08% to 0.09% annually compared to mutual fund fees—translating into...more
The just-released 25th Edition of the 401k Averages Book confirms what many of us on the fiduciary side have known—and preached—for years: fees continue to fall, but not evenly. While this is welcome news, it’s also a wake-up...more
FINRA’s continued focus on account recommendations and rollovers is evident in its 2025 FINRA Annual Regulatory Oversight Report (the Report), Based on the Report, broker-dealers and their registered representatives...more
Sponsors of 401(k) plans are increasingly recognizing the need to provide personalized investment options for their participants; however, access to managed accounts still remains limited....more
Vanguard announced expense ratio reductions to 168 mutual fund and exchange-traded share classes across 87 funds. The reductions will save investors more than $350 million in 2025 alone, the largest annual expense ratio...more
While PC software programs are a practical improvement over the trustee’s hard-copy ledger book, when it comes to keeping track of trust income and principal these programs still require serious clerical monitoring on the...more
The U.S. Treasury Department’s SSBCI program provides a potentially significant source of capital for venture capital fund managers. In particular, venture capital funds focused on targeted geographies may find SSBCI...more
A federal district court in Massachusetts recently denied a motion to dismiss a complaint filed by plan participants in the Cape Cod Healthcare, Inc. 403(b) plan, which alleged that the plan’s fiduciaries breached their ERISA...more
A recent court decision explained the circumstances under which a plaintiff may assert a claim for promissory estoppel and whether a private right of action exists for a certain alleged violation of the Michigan Franchise...more
In an August 2, 2024, decision in Pizarro v. The Home Depot, Inc., No. 22-13643 (11th Cir. Aug. 2, 2024), the Eleventh Circuit reaffirmed its position — and the position of the majority of federal circuit courts to address...more
The FCA consultation paper CP24/7 “Payment Optionality for Investment Research” considers the reintroduction of the bundling of research payments with broker’s execution fees....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
The Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (“CIRO”) recently published for comment proposals relating to Phase 3 of its rule consolidation project (the “Rule Consolidation Project”) as well as a new integrated fee model...more
The staff of the Division of Investment Management (the “Staff”) has issued a FAQ pertaining to the rule and form amendments adopted by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) in October 2022, which require...more
Defense counsel frequently lament the difficulties of defending 401(k) investment and recordkeeping fee litigation when different judges render conflicting rulings on motions to dismiss seemingly indistinguishable...more
Community Banks Renew Fight Against ILCs - “ICBA reiterates opposition to non-bank-owned lenders’ applications to the FDIC, naming GM, Ford, Rakuten.” Why this is important: The Independent Community Bankers of...more
In a striking reversal of approach beginning in the summer of 2022, the District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin went from denying, in whole or in part, virtually every motion to dismiss ERISA lawsuits targeting...more
Welcome to the latest issue of Bracewell’s FINRA Facts and Trends, a monthly newsletter devoted to condensing and digesting recent FINRA developments in the areas of enforcement, regulation and dispute resolution. This...more
In Matousek v. MidAmerican Energy Co., 2022 WL 6880771, __ F.4th __ (8th Cir. 2022), the Eighth Circuit joined the Sixth and Seventh Circuits in affirming dismissal of ERISA breach of fiduciary duty claims alleging that the...more
Two recent district court decisions add to the growing number of courts granting motions to dismiss putative ERISA class actions challenging defined contribution plan fees and investment performance. These decisions from the...more