fiduciary responsibilities towards members regarding the fund's invest

[Guest JD698]

What fiduciary duties, if any, does a union have with respect to reporting to its members about the fund's investments. This is a Taft-Hartley fund.

Any help would be appreciated.

[KJohnson]

It's tough to generalize, but the Board of Trustees of a Taft-Hartley Fund (which must be jointly trusted by management and union representatives) are the fiduciaries of the fund and also the plan sponsor and "defualt" plan administrator.

I am not sure that the union, as a union, would have fiduciary duties other than the appointment and removal of its members of the Board. Of course, the union-appointed members of the Board of Trustees would have fiduciary duties.

[Guest JD698]

What fiduciary duties would the board of trustees have with respect to informing the members about the investments? Is there a general requirement or would they only respond to questions or requests from members?

[Guest Keith N]

Don't all plan participants have the right to a copy of the 5500, including the audit report, if they request it? The audit report generally contains a list of assets held for investment.

Are you asking if the Trustees need to be pro-active and inform the participants of investment decisions? - I would say no.

Do the Trustees need to provide investment information if asked? - I would say yes, I believe the participants have the right to know what the trust is investing in.