Fidelity Accused of Breaching ERISA Lawsuit

Fidelity Management Trust Co. has been accused of breaching its ERISA fiduciary duties for allegedly receiving unreasonable compensation through its brokerage window feature and a kickback scheme with an investment advice company. Fidelity allegedly selected mutual funds with higher expense ratios for the plan brokerage window that allowed the investment firm to rake in “significant amounts” in revenue-sharing payments in violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts by participants in the Delta Air Lines Inc. retirement plan. As of 2014, the plan had approximately $7.5 billion in assets, of which more than $2.8 billion were invested through Fidelity’s brokerage window. The participants paid Fidelity enormous fees simply for obtaining access to mutual funds that were already established on Fidelity’s platform. It was also alleged that Fidelity earned unreasonable compensation by engaging in a kickback scheme with Financial Engines Advisors or to participants, according to the complaint.