Putnam 401(k) Row Sent Back to Trial Court by 1st Cir. (2)

Investors in Putnam Investments LLC’s 401(k) plan will get another chance to show the company profited at the expense of their retirement savings by putting Putnam-affiliated mutual funds in the plan.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit ordered a district court judge to reconsider whether Putnam’s handling of its 401(k) investment lineup was imprudent under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. In the Oct. 15 ruling, the First Circuit took the pro-employee side in a burgeoning circuit split. The First Circuit joined the Fourth, Fifth, and Eighth circuits in holding that once an ERISA plan ...