The Center for Board Certified Fiduciaries has introduced a new tool aimed at reducing the number of lawsuits against retirement plan sponsors.
The CBCF, a public benefit corporation started in March by fiduciary advocates and professionals, unveiled on Aug. 5 the Fiduciary Oversight of Responsibilities and Tasks, a tool for professional and lay fiduciaries that clearly delineates the fiduciary responsibilities and tasks of a plan sponsor.
"Most fiduciary liability is the result of an omission as opposed to a commission," said Don Trone, the CBCF's CEO, in a news release. "It's not what a fiduciary did — it's what the fiduciary forgot to do. Furthermore, plan sponsors face moral hazards when retirement advisers or service providers state or imply that they've relieved a plan sponsor of their fiduciary responsibility, but actually have only assumed a small subset of the tasks."
The FORT outlines the responsibilities and tasks of a plan sponsor along with the identification and fiduciary status of advisers and service providers, said Trevor Merrill, who is responsible for overseeing the CBCF's intellectual property as its curator, in the news release.
Millions of "lay fiduciaries" have legal responsibility for managing the trillions of dollars in assets of pension plans, foundations, endowments, health and welfare plans, and personal trusts, according to the CBCF. Lay fiduciaries can hold titles ranging from chief financial officer to head of human resources, said Don Jones, CBCF's chairman of the board.
"Lay fiduciaries may not realize that they can prudently delegate some of their fiduciary responsibilities to professional fiduciaries," Mr. Jones said in the news release. "The FORT should help mitigate risks."
The FORT can be accessed through the CBCF's website and will be available for purchase. It will also be made available as part of a curriculum designed by the CBCF.
