Musings on Markets

MARCH 25, 2021

The first quarter of 2021 has been, for the most part, a good time for equity markets, but there have been surprises. The first has been the steep rise in treasury rates in the last twelve weeks, as investors reassess expected economic growth over the rest of the year and worry about inflation. The second has been a shift within equity markets, a "rotation" in Wall Street terms, as the winners from last year underperformed the losers in the first quarter, raising questions about whether this shi

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Equity Risk-free Rate Treasury Start-ups 52

ThomsonReuters

MARCH 25, 2021

QUESTION: Our company has 60 employees, all of whom are eligible for our fully insured medical plan and our health FSA. This year, 40 employees have enrolled in our medical plan and health FSA. Does our health FSA, which we administer in-house, qualify for the exclusion from the HIPAA privacy and security rules for self-administered health plans with fewer than 50 participants?

Compliance 52

Compliance 52

ThomsonReuters

MARCH 25, 2021

In re: Fidelity ERISA Fee Litigation, 2021 WL 836766 (1st Cir. 2021). Available at [link]. An appellate court has affirmed the dismissal of a class action lawsuit alleging that a retirement plan service provider breached its fiduciary duties when it charged some mutual funds access fees to be included on the provider’s investment platform. The provider, which serves as the recordkeeper and directed trustee for thousands of 401(k) plans, offers a “supermarket” of funds (the Big Menu) from which

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ThomsonReuters

MARCH 25, 2021

Doe v. United Behavioral Health, 2021 WL 842577 (N.D. Cal. 2021). Available at [link]. The claims administrator of a self-insured health plan was sued by the parent of a child with autism spectrum disorder over the plan’s exclusion of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) and Intensive Behavioral Therapies (IBT). While the child was covered, the plan specifically excluded both treatments, although the exclusion was dropped soon after the child’s coverage ended.

Compliance 52

Compliance Equity 52

Speaker: Susan Spencer, Principal of Spencer Communications

Intent signal data can go a long way toward shortening sales cycles and closing more deals. The challenge is deciding which is the best type of intent data to help your company meet its sales and marketing goals. In this webinar, Susan Spencer, fractional CMO and principal of Spencer Communications, will unpack the differences between contact-level and company-level intent signals.

Marketability

ThomsonReuters

MARCH 25, 2021

Carlile v. Reliance Std. Life Ins. Co., 988 F.3d 1217 (10th Cir. 2021). Available at [link]. A federal appeals court has ruled that a long-term disability claimant was eligible as an “active, full-time” employee even though, when his disability began, the employer had excused the claimant from reporting to work. The claimant had received a 90-day termination notice (in connection with a reduction in force) and was not required to report to work during the notice period, but he nonetheless chose

Compliance 52

Compliance 52