Prudential Beats Appeal Over Affiliated Funds in 401(k) Plan

Prudential Insurance Co. of America prevailed at the Third Circuit Friday over employees seeking to revive a lawsuit challenging the company’s inclusion of in-house funds in its 401(k) plan.

Prudential’s investment committee relied on an outside consultant to assess plan investments, met quarterly to review performance, and received substantive briefings to guide its decision-making, the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit said in an unpublished opinion.

That’s enough to satisfy the Employee Retirement Income Security Act’s fiduciary duty of prudence, even though the outside consultant was founded by former Prudential employees and selected without a competitive bidding ...