Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight Investigates 401(k) Retirement Account Mismanagement
Charles Field
San Diego Managing Partner and Chair of Firm’s Financial Services Practice Group
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401(k) Mismanagement: What Legal Protections Are In Place For Your Retirement Plan?
401(k) plans, pension plans, and other employer-sponsored retirement plans are intended to position employees well for retirement. Unfortunately, many employers (including some Fortune 500 companies) have failed to manage these funds responsibly, costing employees hard-earned savings and forcing them to work past their planned retirement age. The federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) protects employees from 401(k) mismanagement and obligates employers to manage their employees’ retirement funds responsibly.
Examples of how employers often violate ERISA include failing to monitor a poorly performing investment or allowing a 401(k) plan to be charged excessive fees. Another example is when an employer fails to compute a fair valuation of the company stock held by the company’s employee stock ownership plan (ESOP). Even though the company may hire an independent trustee to determine a value at which a reasonable buyer would pay and what a reasonable seller would accept, there can be a tendency to overvalue the stock when selling to the ESOP and to undervalue the stock when buying from the ESOP. Because employees have very little, if any, say in the matter, valuations can and do benefit controlling shareholders at the expense of the minority.
If you believe your employer is mismanaging your retirement funds, please contact Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight today. We have a proven record of success in holding some of the biggest companies in the United States accountable for mismanaging these crucial funds. San Diego Managing Partner and Financial Services Practice Group Chair Charles Field specializes in holding large employers accountable for failing to fulfill their fiduciary duties as employee fund managers and has secured multi-million-dollar settlements against the Transamerica Corporation, General Electric Company (GE), and the Walgreen Company (Walgreens). Through Charles’ efforts, many employees have recovered some of their hard-earned retirement savings and are now in a better financial position for retirement.
Current ERISA Violation Investigation: Capital Group
Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight’s Financial Services Practice Group is currently investigating a number of companies, including Capital Group (home of American Funds), and how they may have mismanaged their employees’ funds. Our research indicates that for nearly a decade, certain Capital Group American Funds have suffered from chronic underperformance relative to most of their peers. Collectively, employees may have lost millions in retirement savings.
If your retirement accounts were mismanaged, contact us by filling out the form below.
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