Three 401(k) plan participants have filed a class-action lawsuit against Biogen Inc., Cambridge, Mass., alleging the company mismanaged the investments of its 401(k) plan.
The lawsuit, filed July 14 in U.S. District Court in Boston, alleges the company, board of directors, retirement committee and other officials violated their fiduciary duties under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 by failing to adequately and objectively evaluate the prudence of their investment options, and offering certain investment options despite the availability of similar options with lower costs and better performance histories, according to the court filing.
The lawsuit also alleges the defendants failed their fiduciary duties by failing to "consider available collective trusts as alternatives to the mutual funds in the plan, despite their lower fees," according to the filing.
As of Dec. 31, 2018, the Biogen 401(k) Savings Plan had $1 billion in assets, according to the company's most recent Form 5500 filing.
Mark K. Gyandoh and Donald R. Reavey, partners at Capozzi Adler, attorney for the plaintiff, and officials at Biogen could not be immediately reached for comment.
