"Plan fiduciaries should monitor the potential reclassification of proxy advisors as ERISA fiduciaries. Such a change would require proxy advisors to demonstrate that their recommendations are based solely on participants' financial interests, potentially increasing their compliance and litigation risks. This uncertainty may also accelerate the trend of companies ... developing in-house proxy analysis solutions to replace external advisors."  MORE >>

"According to the allegations in the Complaint, Bloomberg failed to remove two funds from its Plan ... despite those funds suffering from poor investment performance for over a decade." [Rajappan v. Bloomberg L.P., No. 26-0785 (S.D.N.Y. complaint filed Jan. 29, 2026)]  MORE >>

"Amicus briefs are not binding law, but neither are they merely they symbolic. Until regulatory guidance is issued, some key takeaways include the following: [1] A signal to the plaintiffs' bar ... [2] A brief from the Solicitor General on behalf of the DOL can shape outcomes, even if the Supreme Court ultimately does not take the case.... [3] The DOL's new posture suggests that process and judgment should get more deference.... [4] The briefs telegraph where the DOL is heading on formal rulemaking."  MORE >>

"Given the relative uncertainty surrounding the selection of alternative investments as investment choices in retirement plans, fiduciaries should remember to use procedures that will clearly establish that they acted as 'prudent experts.' ... Alternative assets have a particular risk-return profile, which may or may not be appropriate for retirement savings in a particular 401(k) plan.... [P]lan fiduciaries should be able to demonstrate that the selection of an investment choice is justified."  MORE >>

"Two new reports from Transamerica suggest that major changes are coming to the retirement landscape by 2030, driven by automation, predictive analytics, and personalized engagement tools. At the same time, however, plans will have to navigate increasing fiduciary threats as a result of these changes."  MORE >>

"[SEC] Chairman Paul Atkins reaffirmed his support on January 29, 2026, for opening the twelve-and-a-half-trillion-dollar 401(k) market to digital assets. Speaking at a digital finance summit in Washington, Atkins stated that it is 'the right time' to modernize [ERISA] to allow everyday workers the same access to alternative investments that institutional pension funds have enjoyed for decades."  MORE >>

"A well-funded plan is certainly a nice achievement, but it does come with some new challenges -- namely, higher contribution volatility.... [T]here will certainly be years with negative returns, and it is not unheard of for assets to return -15% in a single year. And if your assumption is a 6.5% return, that -15% return translates to a loss of over 20%! We do have asset-smoothing techniques that dampen this volatility, but a large asset loss will still result in an unexpected increase in the contribution amount. "  MORE >>

"[This article summarizes] the rules related to the year-end reporting requirements for ISO exercises on Form 3921 and ESPP transfers on Form 3922, and the penalties that could apply if a corporation fails to follow these rules."  MORE >>