Pontera is changing how advisers may be able to work with clients’ held-away retirement accounts.

The company is building a non-discretionary advice workflow designed for firms that want to advise on a client’s 401(k) without directly implementing the trades themselves.

Why does that matter?

Because not every adviser wants discretionary control, and not every client wants…

The 1975 “five-part test” returned this year, and if you think that means less risk, pump the brakes.

After the March 2026 court decisions wiped out the DOL’s 2024 Retirement Security Rule, the Department of Labor (DOL) officially reverted to the old standard.

Sounds simple?

It’s not.

For advisors handling . . .

In the high-stakes world of ERISA litigation, many financial advisers believe that their primary job is to deliver superior investment returns. They are wrong. While clients certainly want growth, the legal reality of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) is far more rigid…

Let’s be real: few things are more annoying for an advisor than seeing a big chunk of a client’s wealth trapped inside a 401(k) you can’t directly manage. You’re building a financial plan with one hand tied behind your back. You can’t see the fund lineup their employer chose, the stale allocations, or the lack of rebalancing.

And the second you start talking about managing it? Compliance starts sweating.

You’re not crazy. Held-away 401(k) advice really is one of the messiest corners of wealth management . . .

If you’ve been in the retirement game for more than five minutes, you know that the "Goldilocks" portfolio, that 60/40 split of stocks and bonds, has been looking a little dusty lately.

For years, financial firms have been staring longingly at the returns generated by institutional players in the private equity and crypto markets, wondering, "Why can’t my 401(k) clients have a slice of that?"

Well, the Department of Labor (DOL) just dropped a bombshell…