CommonSense InvestSense
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CommonSense InvestSense- Is Your 401(k) Plan Truly Acting in the Best Interests of the Plan Participants?: Evaluating Your 401(k) Plan with the Active Management Value Ratio and Fiduciary Prudence Forensics
- InvestSense 101: Assets Under Management…or Mismanagement? – Separating Fact From Fiction
- Battle of the Best Interests: Why the Financial Services Industry Opposes a True Fiduciary Standard and Genuine Investor Protection
- 1+1=34: A Step-by-Step Guide to Wealth Management and Preservation Using the Active Management Value Ratio
- At What Cost?: Annuities, Cryptocurrency, and 401(k) Plans
- “CommonSense InvestSense”- Simplifying Prudent Investing with the Active Management Value Ratio™
- “At What Cost” – Annuities and Cryptocurrency vs. Wealth Preservation and Investor Protection
- “The Lie of the Pie” – Mutual Fund Marketing “Trickeration”
- Upon Further Review-Rethinking the Investment Decision-Making Process
- The Active Management Value Ratio™ 3.0: Maximizing Cost-Efficiency to Improve Investment Returns and Wealth Preservation
Category Archives: ERISA
Is Your 401(k) Plan Truly Acting in the Best Interests of the Plan Participants?: Evaluating Your 401(k) Plan with the Active Management Value Ratio and Fiduciary Prudence Forensics
James W. Watkins, III, J.D., CFP EmeritusTM, AWMA® Most pension plans use mutual funds as the primary investment options within their plan. The Restatement of Trusts (Restatement) states that fiduciaries should carefully compare the costs and risks associated with a … Continue reading
Posted in 401k, Active Management Value Ratio, AMVR, annuities, Consumer Protection, cost efficient investing, cost-effficiency, defined contribution plans, ERISA, Fiduciary, fiduciary prudence, fiduciary responsibility, Fiduciary Standard, Investment Advisors, Investment Portfolios, investments, Investor Protection, pension plans, plan sponsor, Retirement, Retirement Plan Participants, Retirement Planning, retirement readiness, Uncategorized, Wealth Accumulation, Wealth Distribution, Wealth Management, Wealth Preservation
Tagged 401k, Active Management Value Ratio, defined contribution plans, due diligence, ERISA, ERISA litigation, forensic analysis, investments, investor protection, mutual funds, plan sponsor, risk management
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1+1=34: A Step-by-Step Guide to Wealth Management and Preservation Using the Active Management Value Ratio
In a recent Wall Street Journal article, Jason Zweig discussed the lack of transparency with regard to financial advisers.1 While I agree with his assessment, I believe that he may have actually underestimated the damage resulting from such lack of … Continue reading
Posted in 401k, Active Management Value Ratio, AMVR, Best Interests, Consumer Protection, cost efficient investing, cost-effficiency, ERISA, Fiduciary, fiduciary prudence, fiduciary responsibility, Fiduciary Standard, investing, Investment Advice, Investment Advisors, Investment Fraud, Investment Portfolios, investments, Investor Protection, Portfolio Construction, portfolio planning, Portfolio Planning, Uncategorized, Wealth Accumulation, Wealth Management, Wealth Preservation
Tagged Active Management Value Ratio, costefficiency, costinefficiency, investing, investment advice, investment portfolios, investments, investor protection, portfolio construction, retirement planning, wealth management, wealth preservation
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At What Cost?: Annuities, Cryptocurrency, and 401(k) Plans
For many people, their 401(k) or 403(b) accounts are their primary retirement savings. So, it’s only natural that they want their 401(k) or 403(b) plan to offer investment options that are truly in their best interests and their beneficiaries’ best … Continue reading
Posted in 401k, Active Management Value Ratio, AMVR, Consumer Protection, cost efficient investing, cost-effficiency, Equity Indexed Annuities, ERISA, Estate Planning, Fiduciary, fiduciary prudence, fiduciary responsibility, Fixed Indexed Annuities, investing, Investment Advice, Investment Fraud, investments, Investor Protection, pension plans, plan sponsor, Portfolio Construction, portfolio planning, Retirement, Retirement Plan Participants, retirement readiness, Uncategorized, Variable Annuities, Variable Annuity Abuse, Wealth Accumulation, Wealth Management, Wealth Preservation
Tagged 401k, 401k Investing, 403b, 403b investing, investing, investment advice, investment portfolios, investments, investor protection, plan sponsor, portfolio construction, Retirement, retirement plan participants, retirement planning, retirement readiness, wealth management, wealth preservation
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1Q 2022 AMVR “Cheat Sheets”
On the 5-year cheat sheet, only one fund, Dodge & Cox Stock (DODGX), posted positive incremental returns on both nominal and risk-adjusted returns. While DODGX passed the AMVR screen on nominal returns, the fund failed to pass the AMVR screen … Continue reading
Posted in 401k, Active Management Value Ratio, cost efficient investing, cost-effficiency, ERISA, Fiduciary, fiduciary prudence, fiduciary responsibility, Fiduciary Standard, Portfolio Construction, portfolio planning, Portfolio Planning, Wealth Management, Wealth Preservation
Tagged investing, investment portfolios, investments, investor protection, portfolio construction, wealth management, wealth preservation
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4Q 2021 AMVR “Cheat Sheet”
At the end of each calendar quarter, InvestSense publishes the 5 and 10-year Active Management Value Ratio (AMVR) scores of the non-index funds in “Pensions & Investments” annual survey of the most used mutual funds in U.S. defined contribution plans. … Continue reading
Posted in Active Management Value Ratio, AMVR, Consumer Protection, cost efficient investing, cost-effficiency, DOL fiduciary rule, ERISA, Fiduciary, fiduciary prudence, fiduciary responsibility, Fiduciary Standard, financial planning, Portfolio Construction, portfolio planning, Retirement Planning, Uncategorized, Wealth Accumulation, Wealth Management, Wealth Preservation
Tagged Active Management Value Ratio, costefficiency, fiduciary liability, fiduciary prudence, fiduciary responsibility, investing, investment advice, investment portfolios, investments, investor protection, portfolio construction, retirement planning, wealth management, wealth preservation
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3Q 2021 Top Ten 401(k) AMVR “Cheat Sheet”
Posted on October 3, 2021 by jwatkins When InvestSense prepares a forensic analysis for a 401(k)/403(b) pension plan, a trust, an attorney, or an institutional client, we always do an analysis over five and ten-year time periods to analyze the … Continue reading
Posted in 401k, Active Management Value Ratio, Closet Index Funds, cost-effficiency, ERISA, Fiduciary, fiduciary prudence, fiduciary responsibility, Uncategorized, Wealth Accumulation, Wealth Preservation
Tagged 401k, fiduciary liability, fiduciary prudence, fiduciary responsibility, plansponsor
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Full Disclosure: The Art of Reading and Interpreting Mutual Fund Ads
One of the most frequent questions I receive is how to effectively read and interpret mutual fund advertisements. I receive this question not only from individual investors, but from professional investment fiduciaries, such as pension plan sponsors, and securities/ERISA attorneys. … Continue reading
Posted in Active Management Value Ratio, AMVR, Asset Protection, Best Interest Proposal, Best Interests, Consumer Protection, ERISA, Fiduciary, Investment Advice, Investment Advisors, Investor Protection, IRA, pension plans, Portfolio Construction, portfolio planning, Portfolio Planning, Retirement, Uncategorized, Wealth Accumulation, Wealth Management, Wealth Preservation
Tagged 401k, 401k Investing, 403(b), abusive practices, Active Management Value Ratio, Advice, asset protection, Closet Index Funds, Consumer Protection, ERISA, Fiduciary, investing, investment advice, investment advisors, investment losses, investment portfolios, investments, investor protection, IRAs, Pension Planning, Pensions, portfolio construction, retirement plan participants, stockbrokers, wealth management, wealth preservation
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Investor, Protect Thyself: The InvestSense Investor Self-Defense Strategy
During his term as Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).(1993-2001), Arthur Levitt focused more on investor protection than perhaps any other recent SEC Chairman. His advice from a 1999 speech, “Financial Self-Defense: Tips From and SEC Insider,” is … Continue reading
Posted in Absolute Returns, Active Management Value Ratio, AMVR, Closet Index Funds, Consumer Protection, Consumer Rights, ERISA, Estate Planning, Fiduciary, Fiduciary Standard, Integrated Estate Planning, Investment Advice, Investment Advisors, Investment Fraud, Investor Protection, IRA, pension plans, Portfolio Construction, portfolio planning, Retirement, Retirement Distribution Planning, Retirement Plan Participants, Retirement Planning, Uncategorized, Wealth Accumulation, Wealth Distribution, Wealth Management, Wealth Preservation
Tagged 401k, 401k Investing, abusive practices, Active Management Value Ratio, Advice, asset protection, Closet Index Funds, Consumer Protection, estate planning, Fiduciary, financial planning, integrated estate planning, investing, investment advice, investment portfolios, investments, investor protection, Pensions, portfolio construction, retirement distribution planning, stockbrokers, wealth distribution, wealth management, wealth preservation
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One Step to Building More Effective, and Safer, Investment Portfolios
What is the first factor an investor or investment fiduciary, such as a pension plan sponsor, should consider in evaluating an actively managed mutual? Most people’s answer would probably be a fund’s returns or the number of Morningstar “stars” given … Continue reading
Posted in Closet Index Funds, ERISA, Fiduciary, pension plans, portfolio planning, Portfolio Planning, Retirement, Wealth Accumulation, Wealth Management, Wealth Preservation
Tagged 401k Investing, Closet Index Funds, Consumer Protection, Fiduciary, investing, investment advice, investment advisors, investment portfolios, investments, InvestSense, Pensions, portfolio construction, retirement planning, wealth management, wealth preservation
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Are Your 401(k) Plan’s Mutual Funds Legally Prudent?
“You get what you don’t pay for.” – John Bogle Full Disclosure and Total Transparency: I am an attorney. More specifically, I am a wealth preservation attorney and a plaintiff’s securities/ERISA attorney. I primarily offer forensic litigation and consulting services … Continue reading
Posted in Active Management Value Ratio, AMVR, Closet Index Funds, Consumer Protection, Consumer Rights, ERISA, Fiduciary, Fiduciary Standard, Investment Advice, Investment Advisors, Investment Portfolios, Investor Protection, pension plans, Portfolio Construction, portfolio planning, Portfolio Planning, Retirement, Retirement Plan Participants, Retirement Planning, Wealth Management, Wealth Preservation
Tagged 401k, 401k Investing, 403(b), abusive practices, Active Management Value Ratio, Closet Index Funds, Consumer Protection, ERISA, Fiduciary, investing, investment advice, investment advisors, investment portfolios, investments, Pension Planning, Pensions, portfolio construction, retirement plan participants, retirement planning, stockbrokers, wealth management, wealth preservation
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