Displaying 125 results
Give clients the confidence they need
The end of each year is a time of reflection and anticipation.
Maintaining standards in unusual times
By now, even the most ardent advocates of asset allocation have to be asking themselves whether they should just go to cash and wait for saner times.
Congress abdicates its fiduciary duty
Public officials in all branches of government have a fiduciary duty to the citizens of the United States.
Can brokers be fiduciaries?
Judging by newly proposed regulations on investment advice, it looks as if the Department of Labor is trying hard to engineer a sharp turn from the course established by Congress.
First, do no intentional harm
Providing financial advice is similar to providing medical advice in that there is inherent uncertainty about whether recommended actions will achieve the desired results.
Are best practices enough?
In casual conversation about the troubled financial markets, the words "risk" and "uncertainty" often are treated as synonyms.
A warning light for fiduciaries
If there were a color-coded advisory system for fiduciaries, it now would stand at yellow, flashing “elevated risk.”
A duty to monitor proxy voting
Upon the conclusion of a talk about achieving fiduciary excellence that I delivered April 28 at the Mountain States Public Employee Retirement Systems Forum in Denver, and sponsored by the Investment Management Network LLC of New York, an attendee approached me and asked, “What are my obligations as an investment committee member with respect to voting proxies?”
Paulson’s plan forgot the investors
On March 31, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson released the Treasury's "Blueprint for a Modernized Financial Regulatory Structure."
DOL proposes full disclosure plan
Ambrose Bierce, the famous American journalist, defined the word "oath" as a "solemn appeal to the deity, made binding upon the conscience by a penalty for perjury."
Lessons from a French scandal
The French really are different. Consider how the United States would have dealt with Jérôme Kerviel, the 31-year-old trader at Société Générale who managed to lose more than $7 billion through unauthorized trades in stock index futures.
Plan sponsors are avoiding a safe harbor
Upon implementation of the Pension Protection Act one year ago, sponsors of 401(k) plans gained the opportunity to limit their liability for advice given to participants under eligible investment advice arrangements.
PPA supports new business models
Investment advisers can thank the 2006 Pension Protection Act for giving them a new opportunity.
On being a leader and a fiduciary
When preparing to depart from a meeting or other encounter with a senior officer, it is a still-practiced naval tradition for junior officers to make the request, "By your leave, sir/madam."
Tax changes mean fiduciary issues
There are special fiduciary issues associated with hedge and private-equity funds. I testified before the Senate Fi-nance Committee…
With QDIAs, an overall evaluation is key
We applaud Donald Trone’s efforts to identify prudent selection and monitoring criteria for qualified default investment alternatives as…
The computer-driven advice model
The Pension Protection Act provides a good outline of the major components required Over the past year, I have written extensively on provisions of the 2006 Pension Protection Act. Let’s now focus on components of the PPA’s computer-driven advice model.
Procedures for selecting and monitoring QDIAs
Second of two parts Part one (InvestmentNews, June 4) introduced the provisions for the new qualified default…
Qualified-default-investment alternatives and you
First of two parts The 2006 Pension Protection Act and subsequent Department of Labor guidance provide for…
Plan sponsor’s fail-safe: Using RIA as a co-fiduciary
Many Employee Retirement Income Security Act fiduciaries, including plan sponsors, trustees and members of investment committees, are unaware of their significant responsibilities relating to the prudent selection and monitoring of plan asset investments, and the proper operation of their qualified plans.
