News & Analysis as of

Fiduciary Duty Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) Investment Management

Troutman Pepper Locke

Retirement Revolution: Expanding Access to Private Credit in 401(k)s

Troutman Pepper Locke on

On August 7, President Donald Trump issued an executive order directing federal agencies, particularly the Department of Labor, to work on expanding access to alternative investments for participants in 401(k) and other...more

Ballard Spahr LLP

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

Ballard Spahr LLP on

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

Holland & Hart - The Benefits Dial

I Might Be In Oklahoma But I’m Not OK … Fiduciary Considerations Following Executive Order Allowing Private Equity in 401(k)s

Last week the White House issued an executive order directing the Department of Labor (DOL) and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to facilitate 401(k) participants’ access to alternative investments, including private...more

Davis Wright Tremaine LLP

Is Your Defined Contribution Plan Ready for Alternative Assets?

President Trump has issued an Executive Order ("Order") to enable defined contribution plans (e.g. 401(k) and 403(b) plans) to invest in "alternative assets," such as private equity, real estate and digital assets. The Order...more

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

Plan Design That Works: Why 401(k) Participants Are Saving Smarter

Every once in a while, the data tells a story that plan sponsors should actually feel good about. Vanguard’s latest How America Saves report offers just that, a story of progress. Thanks to smarter plan design choices,...more

Jackson Lewis P.C.

Harnessing AI Under ERISA: A Compliance and Oversight Guide for Retirement and Health Plan Fiduciaries

Jackson Lewis P.C. on

It is increasingly evident that artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping all facets of business, and its impact on employee benefit plans is no exception. From automating plan administration to personalizing participant...more

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

Get the lowest share price possible

Here’s that in Ary Rosenbaum’s voice — clear, direct, with a personal anecdote to drive the point home: I’ve talked a lot about institutional share classes, revenue sharing, and the alphabet soup of fund share classes....more

Polsinelli

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

Polsinelli on

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

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

Carlton Fields on

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

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

Do You Really Want to Be an ERISA Fiduciary?

Two recent class action lawsuits charging a breach of fiduciary duty under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) have increased the stakes and raised important considerations regarding a plan fiduciary’s duty of...more

Morgan Lewis

ETFs for ERISA Plans: Operational Barriers and Potential Benefits

Morgan Lewis on

Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have gained an increasing foothold in the wealth-management investment universe, with ETF assets under management currently about half the assets under management of mutual funds. As the ETF...more

Winstead PC

The QPAM Exemption - Key Takeaways for Fund Managers with Benefit Plan Investors

Winstead PC on

As an asset manager, you may be familiar with the regulatory issues that come into play when a fund permits investments from “benefit plan investors,” which generally include certain employee benefit plans subject to the...more

A&O Shearman

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

A&O Shearman on

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

A&O Shearman

ESG Investing Takes A Blow In Texas Federal Court

A&O Shearman on

On January 10, 2025, Judge Reed O’Connor of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas ruled, following a four-day bench trial, that an airline breached ERISA fiduciary duties when investing...more

Fenwick & West LLP

Judge Finds American Airlines Breached its Fiduciary Duty of Loyalty by Allowing Investment Manager to Prioritize ESG Goals with...

Fenwick & West LLP on

On January 10, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas found that American Airlines and its employee benefit committee (EBC) breached their fiduciary duty of loyalty under the Employee Retirement...more

Proskauer - Employee Benefits & Executive...

401(k) Plan Fiduciaries Breached ERISA’s Duty of Loyalty By Allowing ESG Interests To Influence Management Of The Plan

Last week, Judge Reed O’Connor of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, issued the first-of-its-kind ruling on the merits pertaining to environmental, social, and corporate governance (“ESG”) investing...more

Ropes & Gray LLP

Practical Takeaways from Spence v. American Airlines, Inc. for ERISA Plan Fiduciaries

Ropes & Gray LLP on

On January 10, 2025, Judge Reed O’Connor of the Northern District of Texas issued a much-anticipated ruling in Spence v. American Airlines, Inc., which marks the first time that a federal judge has written an on-the-merits...more

Mintz

Federal Court Rules ESG-Guided Investing of 401(k) Plan Is a Breach of Fiduciary Duty

Mintz on

Following a bench trial, Judge O'Connor (N.D. Tex.) held that “that Defendants breached their fiduciary duty by failing to loyally act solely in the retirement plan's best financial interests by allowing their corporate...more

K&L Gates LLP

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

K&L Gates LLP on

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

Goodwin

Supreme Court Grants Review in ERISA Class Action Challenging Plan Sponsor’s Recordkeeping Arrangement

Goodwin on

Key takeaway: The Supreme Court granted certiorari to address the pleading standards for prohibited-transaction claims under 29 U.S.C. § 1106(a). On October 4, 2024, the Supreme Court granted certiorari in Cunningham v....more

Carlton Fields

Changes for Producer Award Trips at IMOs? Fiduciary Rule Suggests Turbulence Ahead

Carlton Fields on

In April 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor issued its long-awaited retirement security rule, also known as the fiduciary rule, broadening the definition of who is an “investment advice fiduciary” under the Employee...more

Carlton Fields

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

Carlton Fields on

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

Nossaman LLP

Relying on Loper, Fifth Circuit Sends Chevron-based decision Back to District Court, calling ESG Rule into Question

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On July 18, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (“Fifth Circuit”) vacated a decision by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas (“District Court”) that upheld the U.S. Department of Labor’s...more

Jackson Lewis P.C.

Evonik Corporation Beats 401(k) Plan Challenge with Evidence of Rigorous Fiduciary Process

Jackson Lewis P.C. on

A New Jersey federal district court recently granted summary judgment in defendants’ favor in an ERISA excessive fee case accusing Evonik’s 401(k) plan fiduciaries of keeping imprudent investments in the plan and of allowing...more

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