Case: Retirement Plans/Participant Information (S.D. Tex.)

Confidential retirement plan participant data isn’t a plan asset that imposes specific obligations under ERISA on those who manage the plan, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas said as it dismissed a lawsuit accusing Fidelity Investments Institutional Operations Co. of profiting off the confidential data of Shell Oil Co.'s 401(k) plan participants. The court rejected claims that Fidelity breached fiduciary duties when it used participant data to peddle financial products and services that weren’t part of the plan. Participants said Fidelity uploaded their private information into a software program that was shared with various Fidelity affiliates ...