The University of Chicago hired TIAA-CREF as sole record keeper of its four defined contribution plans, effective April 2, said an announcement on the university's website.
Previously, TIAA and Vanguard were the plans' record keepers.
In conjunction with the record-keeper change, the university is consolidating the plans' investment lineups.
According to supplementary materials on the university's website, TIAA was selected as the sole record keeper "to simplify the administration of the retirement plans and the investment lineup while offering a mix of investment options that includes mutual fund and annuity options."
The plans' new lineups will consist of a series of Vanguard Group target-date funds, eight Vanguard index funds, = seven active funds managed by Vanguard, BlackRock, Cardinal Capital Management, Dodge & Cox and Harding Loevner, and three TIAA or CREF annuity options. There will also be a brokerage option from TIAA
Specifics on the plans' previous investment lineups could not immediately be learned, although the university's announcement noted that several of the Vanguard and TIAA options are carryovers from the previous lineups with lower fees for certain options.
In May, participants sued the university for allegedly breaching its fiduciary duties by charging participants excessive fees and investing their retirement assets in high-cost and poor-performing funds. According to the ongoing lawsuit, two of the plans, the University of Chicago Contributory Retirement Plan and University of Chicago Retirement Income Plan for Employees, had more than $3 billion in assets combined and offered more than 115 investment options from Vanguard and TIAA.
Asset sizes for the university's two other DC plans affected by the changes — the University of Chicago Supplemental Retirement Program and the University of Chicago 457(b) Deferred Compensation Plan — could not immediately be learned.
A university spokesman could not immediately be reached for additional information.
