Plan Fiduciaries’Duties after the Mutual Fund Scandals

Abstract

The mutual fund scandals of the past year and a half have not only affected the mutual fund managers who flagrantly breached their obligations to their investors but have also imposed new and uncertain duties on plan fiduciaries who must now navigate an increasingly complex web of regulatory actions and pronouncements. Plan fiduciaries must be aware of the nature of the investment manager and mutual fund abuses, the harm such behavior can cause to plan participants and beneficiaries, the duty the Department of Labor has placed on them with respect to these matters, and the ever-widening investigations by the Securities and Exchange Commission, various state attorneys general, and the Department of Labor.