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A Practical View From the Trenches

After the drama of a Supreme Court argument, multiple amicus briefs, and voluminous commentary, the role of a fiduciary (from the perspective of a fiduciary) after Fifth Third Bancorp v. Dudenhoeffer , in the end, looks very similar to the role of a fiduciary before Dudenhoeffer.  But, while the role may be the same, the biggest difference is that attention, directed by no less an authority than the Supreme Court, has now been focused on the responsibilities and potential liabilities  assumed by fiduciaries.

Simply put, post Dudenhoeffer, fiduciaries must determine that an investment of plan assets in company stock is prudent.  Sound familiar?

Even before Dudenhoeffer eliminated the Moench presumption, leading fiduciaries recognized that oversight of a company stock account required traditional fiduciary monitoring and analytics of the investment of plan assets in company stock.  This oversight would be judged against a prudent expert standard.  Neither the responsibility nor the standard has changed.

To meet this responsibility, at Harrison Fiduciary Group, we have established a disciplined practice with respect to company stock accounts which includes regular monitoring of

  • contributions/redemptions,
  • cash balances,
  • market price, and
  • public disclosures.

Although the Supreme Court acknowledged that fiduciaries can rely upon the market price of a security (effectively adopting a modern portfolio theory of pricing), we have established a research competency which takes into account:

  • SEC public filings,
  • Financial news reports,
  • Stock analyst ratings and reports,
  • Credit ratings, and
  • Price/volatility of options or credit default swaps (where available).

In other words, every time we purchase shares of company stock, we are in effect, making the determination that the investment is a prudent one.   Similarly, we also recognize that in the event that we determine that an investment in company stock is no longer prudent, then we would be obligated to begin selling the stock.

To repeat for emphasis, however, notwithstanding the Dudenhoeffer decision, none of this is really new.

What is new post-Dudenhoeffer, however, is the recognition that company stock fiduciaries have substantive roles to play and that there is real risk and liability for failure to discharge these responsibilities prudently.  Fiduciaries of company stock accounts are not mere recordkeepers, nor do they merely “rubber stamp” the decisions of others. The Dudenhoeffer decision makes this clear.

At Harrison Fiduciary Group we not only understand these responsibilities and maintain expertise in these fiduciary skills, but we will be accountable for all fiduciary decisions that we make.

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