"Regardless of whether the plan is self-trusteed or uses an outside trust service, the trust document will further describe whether the named trustees are Nondiscretionary (or Directed) Trustee s or Discretionary Trustees. Although a plan trustee is always a 'fiduciary' as result of its authority or control over plan assets, a Directed Trustee assumes less responsibility and less liability because it is basically just following the investment directions given to it by the plan sponsor, investment manager or plan participants. The duties of a Directed Trustee are therefore significantly narrower that the duties of a Discretionary Trustee. A Discretionary Trustee is held to a higher standard of care than a Directed Trustee."

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