Fiduciary Governance

Gordon Hartogensis, President Trump’s nominee to serve as Director of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), testified and answered questions at a confirmation hearing the Senate Finance Committee held on Sept. 27. Senators questioned Hartogensis regarding his views on the health of the... READ MORE

The Department of Labor’s (DOL) fiduciary rule may be moribund, but that doesn’t mean that investment fiduciary standards are — including best interest standards. A recent blog post by Fred Reish discusses how to best meet the various such standards that are in place. In “Best Interest and Best... READ MORE

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) is issuing rules to implement its authority to facilitate mergers and transfers between multiemployer pension plans, the agency announced on Sept. 13. The final regulation updates the general requirements on plan mergers and transfers of plan assets... READ MORE

It is not unusual to delegate or even outsource functions investment committees commonly perform. But taking that step doesn’t mean washing the hands of all involvement with governance. A recent blog post makes suggestions regarding what can be done to continue to monitor and exercise active... READ MORE

Being a fiduciary is serious business. And complex. But a recent blog entry boils it down to seven common sense rules for a fiduciary to keep in mind.In “7 Rules Every Professional Fiduciary Must Follow,” Christopher Carosa of Fiduciary News suggests that complying with the legalities of serving as... READ MORE

The judge in a recent excessive fee case decision had a lot to say – about the plan committee members – and the expert witnesses called to testify. I’m talking about the recent decision in Sacerdote v. N.Y. Univ., S.D.N.Y., No. 1:16-cv-06284-KBF, judgment 7/31/18, a suit brought by participants in... READ MORE

Securities and Exchange Commissioner Hester Peirce on July 24 argued that the proposed Regulation Best Interest would set clear standards, even though the word “fiduciary” is not directly incorporated in the proposal.Addressing critics who remain unsatisfied, Peirce, who was sworn in in January... READ MORE

As we celebrate the Declaration that marks the birth of this nation, it seems a good time to reflect on some lessons from that experience that hold true even today. Inertia is a powerful force. By the time the Second Continental Congress convened, the “shot heard round the world” had already been... READ MORE

In what looks to be a first in excessive fee litigation, a court has ordered plaintiffs to produce some Facebook posts.In this excessive fee suit, the plaintiffs charge — as others have in similar actions — that the fiduciaries of the $5.1 billion Anthem 401(k) Plan (formerly the WellPoint 401(k)... READ MORE