Investments and Fiduciary Duty Expert Witness

Expert Witness Focus

• Fiduciary duties and responsibilities associated with the management of investment portfolios in trusts and estates, retirement plans, individual investor portfolios and foundations
• Experience includes expert reports, damage calculations and testimony with respect to trustees of private trusts (including bank trust departments), beneficiaries of private trusts, retirement plan participants, retirement plan fiduciaries, investment advisers and individual investors (see Expert Witness Experience Summarized By Retaining Party below)

 Current Employment

• Principal and Senior Investment Consultant with Innovest Portfolio Solutions LLC, an SEC registered investment adviser firm that provides investment consulting services on a fee-only basis to over $42 billion of individual, retirement plan and foundation investment portfolios pursuant to the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (1996 to present) (see Comprehensive CV below)

Professional Certifications and Credentials

• Certified Public Accountant (CPA)
• Attorney
• Chief Compliance Officer for SEC Registered Investment Adviser
• Accredited Investment Fiduciary Analyst™ (2004) / Center for Fiduciary Studies
• Registered Fiduciary™ (2010) / Dalbar, Inc.
• Securities Experts Roundtable (2020) / Voting Member

Investment Experience

• Over 40 years of diverse financial services experience
• Ongoing investment consulting relationships with clients that include retirement plans, foundations and high net worth individuals (including trusts and estates)
• Working knowledge of suitability requirements, investment products, investment strategies (including Modern Portfolio Theory), financial markets, investment market history, financial services providers, and financial institutions
• Hired by the United States Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration to provide analysis and opinions with respect to the duties and responsibilities of ERISA retirement plan fiduciaries.
• Working knowledge of prudent investment practices that meet fiduciary standards and financial services industry standards of care including Uniform Prudent Investor Act (UPIA), Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), Uniform Prudent Management of Institutional Funds Act (UPMIFA), Uniform Trust Code (UTC), Investment Advisers Act of 1940, and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency Regulations

Expert Witness Experience – Summary

• 70 engagements including 58 lawsuits and 12 arbitrations
• 35 testimonies including 21 depositions, 6 trials and 8 arbitrations
• 48 expert reports and 18 damage calculations

Expert Witness Experience Summarized By Retaining Party

• Trust beneficiaries (16 cases)
• Trustees of private trusts (4 cases)
• Trust beneficiaries - bank trusteed trusts (5 cases)
• Bank trust departments (4 cases)
• ERISA plan fiduciaries (3 cases)
• ERISA plan participants (17 cases)
• Individual investors (14 cases)
• Investment advisers (3 cases)
• City pension plans (2 cases)
• Foundation trustees (1 case)
• University (1 case)

Professional Affiliations

• American Institute of Certified Public Accountants
• Colorado Society of Certified Public Accountants
• Personal Financial Planning Committee
• Litigation Support Committee

Education

• Juris Doctor, George Washington University Law School, With Honors, 1976
• Master of Business Administration, University of Dayton, 1974
• B.A. in Accounting, Ohio University, Cum Laude, Honors College, 1970

Comprehensive CV

Please contact Mr. Fender for a CV that includes detailed information about his investment consulting experience, expert witness experience, expert witness testimony, expert witness reports, professional certifications, fiduciary designations, education, employment history, published articles and presentations.

Retention for Expert Witness Engagements

All potential expert witness engagements must be discussed with Mr. Fender. All engagements require an executed engagement letter. Designations without an executed engagement letter and lacking explicit written approval by Mr. Fender are strictly prohibited.

Updated 1/19/2023