Wells Fargo Must Defend Affiliated Funds in $40 Billion 401(k)

Wells Fargo & Co. must face a proposed class action challenging the affiliated funds in its $40 billion 401(k) plan after a Minnesota federal judge on Wednesday ruled that plan participants provided meaningful benchmarks showing how the banking giant favored its own funds over cheaper and better-performing alternatives.

Yvonne Becker’s complaint relies on the same benchmarks set by Wells Fargo to argue that the bank kept its own funds in the 401(k) plan despite multi-year periods of underperformance, Judge Donovan W. Frank of the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota held. Becker’s “numerous and specific allegations” support her ...