Oracle Corp., the computer software company, allegedly breached its fiduciary duty by choosing funds that resulted in excessive revenue-sharing payments to the financial services corporation Fidelity.
According to recent news, the company is settling its long-running 401(k) lawsuit for $12 million. The deal comes in just days before the trial began— minimizing the high risks involving a court decision.
Oracle Settles Prior to Trial
The claim, initially filed in January 2016, stated that Oracle (as a sponsor to the 401(k) plan) breached its fiduciary duty to the plan's members by incorporating three (or more) investment options that underperformed their benchmarks and by allegedly charging unreasonable fees.
Based on the authorities' records, the investment alternatives included the Artisan Small Cap Value Fund, PIMCO Inflation Response Multi-Asset Fund, and TCM Small-Mid Cap Growth Fund.
According to the court motion, the settlement class only includes participants or beneficiaries of the plan between January 1st, 2009 - December 31st, 2019.
In addition to the monetary compensation, the agreement also establishes that the software company must notify Fidelity not to cross-sell any products to members of their plan for the next three years.
Based on court records, the order extends to individual retirement accounts, services managed outside the plan, insurance products, and wealth management services or investments.
As a result, the detail guarantees that the plan's record keeper does not improperly benefit from the sale of retail financial products that could affect the plan's participants.
Fidelity is not appointed as a defendant in the case, and the record keeper has been sued in separate cases due to allegedly receiving "secret payments" from companies whose products were included in the plans.
Oracle Plan Had Thousands of Participants
According to the Department of Labor data aggregated by BrightScope, the Oracle 401(k) plan had approximately $14.3 billion in assets among nearly 80,000 participants at the end of 2018.
The arrangement includes a maximum payout of almost $4.5 million for plaintiff law firm Schlichter Bogard & Denton.
401(k)
Many retirement plans give the plan trustee and brokers the discretion to make investments on behalf of the employees. In such cases, the broker and brokerage firm for which the broker works take on the legal responsibilities to the employees that are the same as those owed by the trustees of the 401(k), 403(b), or other retirement plans.
Speak with a Securities Fraud Attorney
Dimond Kaplan & Rothstein, P.A. has vast experience in investment losses caused by the mismanagement of retirement funds. Our lawyers are known for our successes on behalf of clients who have been wronged through mismanagement of investments by brokers and fund managers.
As experts in securities fraud arbitration and litigation, we will aggressively pursue claims to recover your losses.
Contact Dimond Kaplan & Rothstein Today
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