BlackRock is the Latest Financial Services Firm Accused of Fiduciary Breaches in Management of its 401(k) Plan

Posted on September 21, 2017 by retirementtimesnewsletter

A number of financial services companies have been the targets of lawsuits over alleged fiduciary breaches in their own 401(k) plans where the plan offers only the sponsor’s proprietary investment products. This is a longstanding and common industry practice. Such suits are now pending against over a dozen firms.

The latest suit is against BlackRock, the world’s largest investment manager with over $5 trillion in assets.¹ Plaintiffs accuse BlackRock of self-dealing in offering only its own products which the plaintiffs allege are expensive and have underperformed.

Current status of lawsuits pending against firms in the financial services industry²:

Great West	Great West prevailed
Principal Financial	Settled for $3 million
New York Life	Settled for $3 million
TIAA	In negotiations
Fidelity	Settled for $12 million
Schwab	Motion filed to compel arbitration
Franklin Templeton	Motion to dismiss denied
American Century	Motion to dismiss denied
Deutsche Bank	Motion to dismiss denied
Putnam	Class action certified

¹As of 06/30/2017.

²401khelpcenter.com COLLECTED WISDOM on Court and Legal Actions Related to Retirement Plans.

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