Articles for ERISA Trustees
ERISA 1104(a)(1)(B) re Duty to Prudently Delegate
A trustee has a duty to prudently invest the plan assets on behalf of the beneficiaries. However, few trustees actually take on this complex responsibility alone. In most cases the trustee will…
ERISA §1104(a)(1)(c): Duty to balance risk and return with Alternative Investments
Prudence not Prescience Trustees are required to make hard investment decisions. They are to take into consideration the risk of loss and the opportunity for gain associated with each particular investment or investment course of action. ERISA trustees are required to...
ERISA §1104(a)(1)(C) re Diversification
US Code §1104(a)(1)(C) states, “A fiduciary shall discharge his duties with respect to a plan solely in the interest of the participants and beneficiaries… by diversifying the investments of the plan so as to minimize the risk of large losses…” The court in Marshall...
Johnny Depp v. TMG: What are a business manager’s duties of care?
The Question: What standard of care and what attendant duties does a business manager owe to their client? The Answer: It depends on what roles and services the business manager fulfills for their client. A good argument can be made that the business manager owes a...
ERISA §1104(a)(1)(A)(ii) re Duty to Incur Reasonable Fees
It is fundamental to a trustee’s duties to ensure that expenses incurred by the plan are fair and reasonable. However, when a plan is using one vendor to provide a bundled solution representing various services, determining whether the plan is paying “fair fees” is...
An ERISA Trustee’s Duty of Loyalty
It’s hard to be an ERISA trustee. Many plan trustees have other pressing corporate responsibilities and few have the time or experience to become fiduciary governance experts. But fiduciary governance need not be a complicated subject. Good fiduciary governance,...
ERISA §1104(a)(1)(C) re Diversification
US Code §1104(a)(1)(C) states, “A fiduciary shall discharge his duties with respect to a plan solely in the interest of the participants and beneficiaries… by diversifying the investments of the plan so as to minimize the risk of large losses…” The court in Marshall...
ERISA §404(a)(1)(B) re Duty to Balance Risk and Return
Trustees are required to make hard investment decisions. They are to take into consideration the risk of loss and the opportunity for gain associated with each particular investment or investment course of action. ERISA trustees are required to balance the risk and...
