Does ERISA Apply to Matters Regulated by the Securities Laws?
For more than 70 years, the federal securities laws have regulated matters relating to the purchase and sale of securities, with the goal of assuring that all affected parties have the benefit of accurate and complete information in order to make an informed investment decision. ERISA, on the other hand, traditionally has been viewed as establishing only four general standards of conduct for fiduciaries (i.e., the duty of loyalty to act for the exclusive benefit of the plan and its participants; the duty of prudence to act reasonably with respect to plan matters; the duty to diversify plan assets; and the duty to follow the terms of plan documents consistent with the other three duties). If the ERISA tagalong class actions are successful in imposing upon fiduciaries the duty to disclose complete and accurate information about the company’s securities or to preclude participants from investing in company securities under certain circumstances, new and unprecedented duties for ERISA fidu
