Current and former participants of a 401(k) plan offered by Associated Banc-Corp sued the Green Bay, Wis., financial institution and fiduciaries for violating ERISA in the plan's management and investment menu selection, according to a complaint.
"Defendants failed to employ a prudent and loyal process for selecting, monitoring, and reviewing the plan's investment options, by improperly prioritizing Associated Bank's proprietary investments over superior available options," said the complaint, which was filed Jan. 13 in U.S. District Court in Green Bay and which seeks class-action status.
The participants accused the defendants of "failing to critically or objectively evaluate the quality of the plan's proprietary investments in comparison to other investment options," said the complaint in the case of Evans et al. vs. Associated Banc-Corp et al.
"In addition, defendants caused the plan to pay excessive record-keeping fees to Associated Bank's subsidiary, Associated Trust, and failed to properly monitor and control those expenses," the complaint said.
Spokeswoman Jennifer Kaminski wrote in an email that the company doesn’t comment on pending litigation.
The Associated Banc-Corp 401(k) and Employee Stock Ownership Plan had $700 million in assets as of Dec. 31, 2019, according to the latest Form 5500.
