Cisco Again Defeats Lawsuit Over 401(k) Plan’s BlackRock Funds

Cisco Systems Inc. on Monday defeated a challenge to the BlackRock Inc. target date funds in its employees’ 401(k) plan, when a federal judge dismissed the proposed class action for the second time.

Participants in Cisco’s retirement plan criticized how the company monitored the BlackRock funds, saying it improperly compared them to “custom benchmarks” that provided no meaningful guidance and were “akin to looking in a mirror.” Judge Edward J. Davila disagreed, saying the use of custom benchmarks was permissible under Cisco’s investment policy statement and has been viewed favorably by courts in other cases.

Davila, who sits in ...