Search the News Archive

Crypto 401(k) Warning Casts Shadow Over T. Rowe Price Settlement

"Pressure is mounting on the [DOL] to back off its guidance against cryptocurrency investing ... The potential consequences of the anti-crypto guidance ... have already prompted global money manager T. Rowe Price Group Inc. to pump the brakes on an $18 million class action settlement agreed to in January.... [T]he $18 million value the company agreed to in that deal doesn't take into account the added costs the [DOL's] new brokerage window interpretation could add to the company, said [T. Rowe Price attorney Brian Boyle]." [[Feinberg v. T. Rowe Price Group, Inc., No. 17-0427, (D. Md. brief in support of settlement agreement Apr. 9, 2022; response of defendant Apr. 25, 2022)]

T. Rowe Price to Pay $7 Million, Add Brokerage Window to 401(k)

"The deal carries a total value of $18 million and provides all class members with minimum payments of $20 and additional money based on the size of their investments in the 39 T. Rowe Price funds challenged by the lawsuit ... The settlement also reflects a $6.6 million payment T. Rowe Price made to more than 6,000 class members in 2019." [Feinberg v. T. Rowe Price Group, Inc., No. 17-0427, (D. Md. proposed settlement agreement Jan. 7, 2022)]

T. Rowe Price Loses Bid to Dismiss Fiduciary Breach Case

" 'Defendants argue that the plan document required the plan trustees to select an exclusive lineup of T. Rowe Price funds,' [the federal district judge] wrote, adding that T. Rowe Price had contended that because it did this as a plan sponsor, it was not subject to ERISA's fiduciary provisions.... 'Regardless of the reasons that T. Rowe Price may have chosen to restrict the trustees to investing in only in-house funds, it does not provide a blanket defense for the plan trustees,' [Judge Bredar] wrote." [Feinberg v. T. Rowe Price, No. 17-427 (D. Md. Aug. 20, 2018)]

Model Retirement-Saver Portfolios for T. Rowe Price Investors

"Although the temptation to earn a quick buck by rolling out trendy new funds has been too much for many rivals, T. Rowe has generally fielded a utilitarian lineup. And while manager departures have picked up in recent years ... T. Rowe has historically done a good job of retaining its investment personnel. Nor has the firm been reticent to close funds pre-emptively in an effort to preserve performance: As of late August 2015, 10 of the firm's 135 funds were closed to new investors. Yet, those closures present a few challenges for investors building a well-rounded T. Rowe Price portfolio from scratch today."

T. Rowe Price ERISA Self-Dealing Lawsuit Will Go to Trial

"Though he expressed doubt about plaintiffs' path to victory in the lawsuit, a federal judge determined they met the minimum requirements to avoid summary judgment in favor of the defendants." [Feinberg v. T. Rowe Price, No. 17-427 (D. Md. Feb. 10, 2021)]

T. Rowe Price: 401(k) Participation Nears 80%

"T. Rowe Price Retirement Plan Services' annual benchmarking report of the plans it serves shows that, in 2019, plan participation was 79.6%. This is up from 78.1% in 2018 ... The increase is largely because 61% of the plans for which T. Rowe is the recordkeeper use automatic enrollment, a rate that has increased by more than 2 percentage points from 2018 and 14 percentage points from 2013."

Claims in T. Rowe Price Self-Dealing Suit Survive Motions to Dismiss

"Claims that survived included fiduciaries breached their duties of loyalty and prudence in their selection and monitoring of investments, fiduciaries failed to monitor other fiduciaries, plan trustees failed to remedy actions of predecessors, and the fiduciaries engaged in prohibited transactions." [Feinberg v. T. Rowe Price, No. 17-427 (D. Md. Aug. 20, 2018)]

T. Rowe Price Accused of Self-Dealing with 401(k) Plan

"T. Rowe Price offered between 80 and 95 investment funds to participants each year -- all in-house funds, according to a lawsuit filed Feb. 14 in federal court in Maryland. These funds were expensive compared not only to funds offered by other investment companies, including Vanguard Investments, but also compared to other funds offered by T. Rowe Price to its commercial customers, the lawsuit said."

T. Rowe Bans Some American Airlines Employees from Fund Trading

"T. Rowe Price Group has permanently banned about 1,300 American Airlines employees from trading among its funds in their 401(k) retirement plans, a rare move to curb 'collective' trading by subscribers to an investment newsletter. About 800 additional employees have received warning letters about their trading patterns ... An American Airlines spokesman said the company in its role as plan sponsor has acted appropriately. Despite the ban, all plan participants still can put new payroll deductions into T. Rowe Price's funds or cash out of them ... They cannot trade among the four T. Rowe Price funds in the plan, which has about 26 other investment choices."

Target Date Trailblazers for 20 Years

"Former and current portfolio managers of [T. Rowe Price] target date solutions marked the 20‑year anniversary of T. Rowe Price target date investing with a discussion of the lessons they've learned and shared insights on the target date investing landscape and where they think it is headed."