BlackRock Class Action Over In-House 401(k) Funds Heads to Trial

A class action accusing BlackRock Institutional Trust Co. of siphoning improper fees from its employees’ 401(k) plan is headed to trial after a federal judge in the Northern District of California said there was a genuine dispute over whether the asset manager followed its own policies in running the plan.

A trial is needed to determine whether BlackRock complied with its 401(k) plan investment policy statement, which directed the company to obtain a legal opinion before offering BlackRock-affiliated funds in the plan, Judge Haywood S. Gilliam Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California held Tuesday. ...