3M Beats Challenge to 401(k) Plan’s Target-Date Funds, for Now

Former 3M Co. employees challenging the target-date funds in their 401(k) plans didn’t include proper comparisons in their complaint, a Minnesota federal judge said, dismissing their case but allowing them to try again.

The employees said the 3M funds performed poorly compared to the S&P Target Date Indices and target-date funds from companies including Fidelity, Vanguard, and T. Rowe Price, but they didn’t sufficiently explain why these are “meaningful benchmarks,” Judge Eric C. Tostrud said. This is fatal to their fiduciary breach claims under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, Tostrud said, but he set a March 31 deadline for ...