Mackanos joins ABG from TRUSTIVO, a retirement
technology company. Before that, he ran the retirement services segment for
SunGard.
Mackanos will spearhead Alliance Benefit Group’s
efforts to expand the brand nationally and recruit new licensees to the ABG
network. He will focus on creating new revenue opportunities for licensees as
they continue to provide retirement platforms to small and midsize employers
across the country.
FRA/PlanTools began a blog for plan sponsors and
advisers with original content on the fiduciary obligations of the Employee
Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).
The goal is simple, the company said in a
release: informative content on ERISA cases, as well as the ERISA Litigation
Index, which discusses cases filed in federal court so that advisers and plan
sponsors can stay current on litigation activity.
The blog and index are written by David J.Witz,
managing director; Thomas E. Clark, Jr., director of fiduciary oversight; and
Justin D. Witz, IT director. The firm may, in the future, seek outside
contributors.
Basic information, such
as the name of the district court, case number and the judges’ names;
The basic issues being
litigated;
The lawyers involved;
A copy of the latest
operative complaint and significant motions and orders; and
Selected commentary
about the cases.
Also supplied are docket tracking, with the list
of documents filed by attorneys and judges, and other court orders or motions
filed so that readers have timely access to information that could affect their
fiduciary governance strategies.
Clients of FRA/PlanTools will see additional
services added to the firm’s benchmarking, adviser RFP (request for proposal)
system and fiduciary governance module as a result of this activity, which is
directly tied to Clark’s previous history as an attorney litigating ERISA
claims on behalf of plan participants and Witz’ background as an expert
witness.
The three current blog postings are: “Tibble v.
Edison International—9th Circuit Requests Rehearing Response from Defendants,”
“Fidelity is Targeted Again and This Time Regarding Its Own In House Plan” and
“7th Circuit decides in favor of Defendant in Leimkuehler v. American United
Life Insurance Co.”
The blog and index can be accessed here.
Readers can sign up for email
subscriptions for blog updates and can email
Clark at tclark@fraplantools.com to suggest cases that should be tracked on the ERISA
Litigation Index.