A class action accusing Putnam Investments LLC of loading its 401(k) plan with high-fee proprietary mutual funds is heading toward trial (Brotherston v. Putnam Investments, LLC, D. Mass., No. 1:15-cv-13825-WGY, 3/3/17).
A federal judge March 3 declined to resolve the dispute at the summary judgment stage, citing lingering factual questions as to whether Putnam acted imprudently or disloyally in putting its own investment products in the 401(k) plan covering its employees. The judge’s two-page order indicated that he was still weighing how to resolve claims that Putnam engaged in transactions prohibited by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. ...