What Fiduciaries Should Do in the Current Environment?
Given the number of investigations and settlements, as part of their duty to monitor plan investments, fiduciaries need to consider whether to investigate or review the practices of the funds owned by their plans regardless of whether any currently implicated funds are owned. If a plan owns a fund that has been implicated, some action is required. The first step is to review public information and request specific information from independent investment consultants and, where possible, fund managers to determine whether the plan is paying undisclosed fees to the mutual fund, brokers or other parties. The next step is to seek the elimination or reduction of the fees. If plan fiduciaries do not have the expertise to evaluate the information and analyze the alternative courses of action, investment and legal advisors should be consulted to ensure that plan fiduciaries are acting prudently. It is important to keep in mind that a fiduciary does not always have to make the right decision. Fi
