BarbriSFCourseDetails
  • videocam Live Webinar with Live Q&A
  • calendar_month March 5, 2026 @ 1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT
  • signal_cellular_alt Intermediate
  • card_travel ERISA
  • schedule 90 minutes

Retirement Plan Investments: Cryptocurrency; Plan Asset Hedge Fund; PE Fund Investing, 401k and IRA; ESG; and More

$297.00

This course is $0 with these passes:

CLE
ALL
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About the Course

Introduction

This CLE webinar will guide employee benefits (ERISA) lawyers, as well as in-house counsel and retirement plan committee members, through the most critical issues and recent developments impacting retirement plan investments. The panel will discuss ERISA fiduciary duties for plan sponsors, the evolving legal landscape for alternative investments, regulatory considerations for institutional investors and asset managers, and best practices for plan fiduciaries. Topics include plan investments in alternative assets: hedge funds and private equity, cryptocurrency and digital assets both through self-directed borkerage accounts and as part of a retirement plan’s investmnet lineup, ESG investing and proxy voting, and current trends in litigation and compliance.

Description

In light of significant legal and regulatory developments, retirement plan fiduciaries and their counsel must navigate complex challenges when selecting and monitoring defined contribution retirement plan investment options. An understanding of these fiduciary duties under ERISA and the current state of the law on alternative investments is essential to avoid unintended liability and potential claims. This program will examine the latest guidance and rulemaking from the Department of Labor, as well as the practical implications of recent litigation trends. Actionable best practices will be offered to help plan sponsors, committee members, and institutional investors fulfill their duties and minimize legal risk.

Participants will gain insights into the latest developments in ESG investing and plan proxy voting, cryptocurrency and other digital assets, hedge fund and private equity investing, brokerage windows, and other key issues impacting retirement plan investments.

Listen as our panel discusses ERISA fiduciary duties for plan sponsors and asset managers, the evolving landscape for alternative investments, compliance obligations, recent litigation, and best practices for retirement plan investment oversight.

Presented By

Marc N. Aspis
Special Counsel
Phillips Lytle Llp

Mr. Aspis provides counsel to clients on a full suite of ERISA/qualified plan issues and keeps his clients up to date with the ever-changing benefits compliance landscape. He guides clients through thorny issues that arise with respect to defined contribution plans (401(k), 403(b), profit-sharing), defined benefit plans and health and welfare plans. Mr. Aspis is adept at analyzing and drafting non-qualified deferred compensation arrangements (both 409A and 457 arrangements), incentive plans, bonus plans, change-in-control plans, retention agreements, equity and “equity-like” plans and other types of more bespoke executive compensation programs. He regularly drafts employment agreements, consulting agreements and severance agreements. On the M&A side, Mr. Aspis provides buy-side and sell-side diligence for employee benefits, executive compensation (including 280G) and general employment matters. His counsel encompasses advising on the covenants, rep and warranties in purchase agreements, and drafts any ancillary or go-forward agreements as they arise.

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Sanyam D. Parikh
Partner
Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP

Mr. Parikh creatively resolves his clients’ challenging executive compensation and employee benefits issues. His practice often involves navigating the complex executive compensation rules peppered throughout the tax code in Sections 409A and 280G among many others, ERISA’s rules governing employee benefit plans, its fiduciary rules and its plan assets regulations, the Affordable Care Act, and COBRA. Mr. Parikh was named a “Legal Elite” in 2024 and the three years immediately preceding for Employment Law by Business North Carolina magazine. He was recognized as a North Carolina "Rising Star" in 2024 and the three years immediately preceding in the area of Employee Benefits by Super Lawyers magazine.

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R. Sterling Perkinson
Partner
Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP

Mr. Perkinson focuses his practice on employee benefits and executive compensation. He collaborates with plan sponsors, fiduciaries and plan service providers to help them achieve their objectives while reducing their risk.

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Credit Information

  • This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.


  • Live Online


    On Demand

Date + Time

  • event

    Thursday, March 5, 2026

  • schedule

    1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT

Outline

I.                   ERISA Fiduciary Duties related to DC Plan Retirement Plan Investment Options

A.     Recent litigation trends

II.                 Alternative Investment Types and the Current State of the Law

A.     Hedge Funds and Private Equity

B.     Cryptocurrency and Digital Assets

C.     Brokerage Windows

III.                ESG Investing and Proxy Voting

IV.               Best Practices for Plan Fiduciaries

The panel will discuss these and other key issues:

  • Regulatory considerations for ERISA plans allocating assets to hedge funds, private equity, and other alternative investments 
  • Fiduciary governance and the evaluation of plan investment options 
  • Evolving ESG and proxy voting guidance 
  • Recent litigation trends involving plan fiduciaries and retirement plan investments 
  • Actionable best practices for developing and maintaining due diligence and monitoring processes