Peter Gulia
Why Companies Aren’t Using The 401k Start-Up Tax Credit
When too many moving parts are introduced at once, decisions slow down. Employers may delay action while trying to understand their options, or they may default to inaction when the path forward is not clear.
401k Designated Investment Alternatives Demand Fiduciary Discipline
Private equity inside a daily-valued, participant-directed plan introduces structural tension. Illiquid assets must coexist with participant liquidity expectations. Valuations must be estimated where markets do not exist. And governance must bridge that gap without introducing bias or delay.
Meaningful Benchmark Fight Reaches Supreme Court as Private Equity Push Expands 401k Risk
Private equity investments raise a second layer of fiduciary difficulty because they are not simply harder to compare. They are also harder to value, harder to redeem, and harder to explain to participants who may assume daily-priced plan options operate under familiar public-market rules.
Forfeiture Lawsuits Raise New Governance Risks for 401k Plan Sponsors
Ongoing forfeiture lawsuits involving major plans are reshaping how courts evaluate fiduciary oversight. Sponsors who rely on routine processes may discover that governance gaps create legal exposure for committees and financial harm for participants.
How Cunningham v. Cornell Exposes the Illusion of 401k Plan Fiduciary Compliance
Cunningham v. Cornell is testing whether traditional 401k fiduciary compliance truly protects plan sponsors. Courts and regulators are probing governance gaps, personal liability, and participant harm more aggressively than ever.
Top Governance Pitfalls Plan Sponsors Must Avoid in 2026 Amid Record ERISA Lawsuits
Fiduciary litigation did not let up in 2025, and 2026 is seeing even more refined theories targeting 401k plans. Plan sponsors must look beyond procedural checklists to avoid the top governance pitfalls that trigger personal liability and erode participant savings.
The Fiduciary Dilemma That Refuses to Die: The Conflicted Merit of 3(38) and 3(21)
Seasoned advisors caution plan sponsors not to confuse delegation with disappearance. Every fiduciary duty can be shared. None can be erased.
Should The 401k Fiduciary Use Risk Tolerance or Risk Capacity?
Risk capacity anchors 401k advice in hard data—income stability, net worth, liquidity, and retirement timeline. Unlike tolerance, which shifts with market moods, capacity reflects what participants can afford to lose, aligning with ERISA’s fiduciary duties.
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