Happy Holidays everyone!  As a little treat here are two of our more popular episodes bundled into one for your listening pleasure.  Both episodes feature Jason Roberts, ERISA Attorney and the Founder and CEO of the Pension Resource Institute which provides strategic consulting and training to retirement plan service providers and fiduciary education to plan sponsors.  In the first part of the podcast we discuss how current 401(k) and ERISA litigation is shedding new light on fiduciary responsibilities and best practices as well as why Jason feels that spending too much time reviewing plan investments might not provide the fiduciary protection you have been lead to believe it does! 

In part two we build on many of the concepts in part one, with a specific focus on conflicts, compensation and reasonableness.  Why those three terms, well according to Jason, they are at the heart of roughly 90% of the recent 401(k) litigation.  Also, Jason shares strategies to determine fee reasonableness in light of value, six open ended questions to evaluate service providers and explains the concept that low cost at all cost might not be the best fiduciary protection strategy! 

Also, this episode along with several others has been approved for HR Recertification Credits!  Go to 401kfridays.com/ce for more information.  Finally, our new episodes resume on January 6th 2017 with our 50th episode featuring Meghan Murphy, the director of thought leadership at Fidelity workplace investing.

Guest Bio

Jason Roberts is the Founder and CEO of the Pension Resource Institute (PRI) providing strategic consulting and training to retirement plan service providers and fiduciary education to plan sponsors.  Prior to founding PRI, Jason was a partner and co-chair of the Financial Services Group at a leading, national ERISA law firm where his practice focused on employee benefits and securities regulation. Jason continues to provide counsel on ERISA and investment-related matters at Retirement Law Group, PC and is frequently retained as an expert on fiduciary responsibilities, Department of Labor (DOL) investigations and retirement plan product development, design and implementation. Jason was named as one of the “100 Most Influential in Defined Contribution” by the 401(k) Wire and a “Rising Star” by SuperLawyers Magazine. He is an active member of the National Association of Plan Advisors (NAPA) and American Society of Pension Professionals and Actuaries (ASPPA). In 2014, Jason was appointed, for a two-year term, as an advisor for the Beach Cities Health District's finance committee. Jason is a nationally-recognized speaker and has published numerous articles on fiduciary best practices, ERISA compliance and securities regulation. He is frequently quoted and interviewed by both professional and public publications. Jason received his B.S.B.A. in Finance & Banking from the University of Missouri and his J.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) School of Law. He is a graduate of FINRA’s Compliance Boot Camp and has obtained the designation of Accredited Investment Fiduciary Analyst™ from the Center for Fiduciary Studies.

401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview

Helps employers navigate the evolving retirement benefits landscape through weekly engaging interviews with industry leaders, subject matter experts and progressive employers with unique viewpoints. The diverse in-depth perspectives and relevant topics help employers make more informed decisions about their retirement benefit programs which will positively impact their employees and business.  

We are quickly approaching our 50th podcast episode!  To explore our growing library of content, if you are subscribed to the podcast, scroll through your podcast app and pick a few episodes that catch your interest, or go to 401kfridays.com/podcasts to find prior episode descriptions, guest bios bonus information and more!