News & Analysis as of

Fiduciary Duty Investment Investment Management

Jackson Lewis P.C.

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

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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

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

Verrill

Spence v. American Airlines: A Texas Court’s View of the Duty of Loyalty under ERISA

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Since we last discussed environmental, social, and corporate governance (“ESG”) developments in the context of ERISA retirement plans, ESG litigation has taken a rather unexpected turn. Although the plan lineup in Spence v....more

Charles E. Rounds, Jr. - Suffolk University...

Individual Trustee Delegates to Financial Institution the Job of Taking Custody and Keeping Track of Income and Principal: The...

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

White & Case LLP

Corporate Governance Key developments

White & Case LLP on

Updated Principles of Remuneration - On the 9 October 2024, the Investment Association (‘IA’), a trade body for UK investment managers, published the Principles of Remuneration (the Principles). IA members are...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

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

Miller Canfield

American Airlines Breaches Fiduciary Duty of Loyalty with BlackRock ESG Funds in 401(k) Plans

Miller Canfield on

Whether, and the extent to which, a plan fiduciary can consider nonpecuniary environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) objectives in selecting plan investments has been a hot-button issue for many years, with the view on...more

Ropes & Gray LLP

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

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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

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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

Mintz

Federal Judge Certifies Class Objecting to ESG Investments by Retirement Fund

Mintz on

On May 22, 2024, Judge O'Connor (N.D. Tex.) ordered that the plaintiffs claiming that investment managers breached their fiduciary duty due to their ESG-focused investing be certified as a class for purposes of the...more

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

The New Fiduciary Rule (20): Requirement to Correct Failures with PTE Conditions (Part 2)

The U.S. Department of Labor has released its package of proposed changes to the regulation defining fiduciary advice and to the exemptions for conflicts and compensation for investment recommendations to retirement plans,...more

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

The New Fiduciary Rule (8): Special Issues—Robo Advice and Investment Education

The U.S. Department of Labor has released its package of proposed changes to the regulation defining fiduciary advice and to the exemptions for conflicts and compensation for investment advice to plans, participants...more

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

The New Fiduciary Rule (5): Discretionary Investment Management

The US Department of Labor has released its package of proposed changes to the regulation defining nondiscretionary fiduciary advice and to the exemptions for conflicts and compensation for investment recommendations to...more

Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP

DOL Issues New Proposed Fiduciary Rule

On Tuesday, October 31, 2023, the U.S. Department of Labor (the "DOL") issued a new proposed rule pertaining to the definition of “fiduciary” under ERISA and Section 4975 of the Code. If adopted, the proposed rule would...more

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

The New Fiduciary Rule (1): An Overview

The US Department of Labor has released its package of proposed changes to the regulation defining fiduciary advice and to the exemptions for conflicts and compensation for investment advice to plans, participants (including...more

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

Another 401(k) Plan Fiduciary Defeats Breach of Fiduciary Duty Claims at Trial

Following a bench trial in a Pennsylvania federal district court in Nunez v. B. Braun Medical, Inc., 401(k) plan fiduciaries defeated a lawsuit alleging that the fiduciaries imprudently managed and paid excessive...more

Robins Kaplan LLP

How an Investor Can Lose More Than Just Their Investment

Robins Kaplan LLP on

When evaluating an investment opportunity, a would-be investor’s risk analysis is usually limited to the potential loss of principal and related opportunity costs of the investment. But substantial investments in startups or...more

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

Senator wants crypto option, good luck

As Bitcoin starts inching back up, I’m in the black again and expect more clamor for crypto options in 401(k) plans. Senator Tommy Tuberville, R-Alabama, reintroduced legislation to create a law, the Financial Freedom Act...more

K&L Gates LLP

ESG Investing and Proxy Voting: DOL's New Final Rule

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Executive Summary: The Department of Labor released a final rule that addresses fiduciary duties when (1) considering ESG factors in selecting investments, and (2) considering whether and how to vote proxies, for plans...more

J.S. Held

Crosscurrents: J.S. Held’s Environmental, Social & Governance Observations (Fiduciary Duties Become Political)

J.S. Held on

The Attorneys General for both Indiana and Louisiana have issued opinions that environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria violate the fiduciary duty owed to corporate investors absent full disclosure of the use of...more

Verrill

ERISA Section 404(c) Protection: A Refresher for Fiduciaries

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The Employee Retirement Income Security Act (“ERISA”) imposes both (i) significant responsibilities on fiduciaries of participant-directed individual account plans, including 401(k) plans, and (ii) personal liability for...more

Seward & Kissel LLP

SEC Files First Reg BI Action Against Broker-Dealer

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On June 15, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) filed a complaint against California-based broker-dealer Western International Securities, Inc. (“Western”) alleging violations of Regulation Best Interest...more

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

Best Interest Standard of Care for Advisors #84: Compliance with PTE 2020-02: Special Issues: Monitoring

The DOL has issued FAQs that generally explain PTE 2020-02 and the expanded definition of fiduciary advice. The DOL’s expanded definition of fiduciary advice was described in the preamble to PTE 2020-02...more

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