CenturyLink Faces ERISA Lawsuit on Custom Large Cap Fund Design [telecom]

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The complaint seeks to state a claim - without relying on hindsight - by arguing the underperformance of a large cap fund was "virtually guaranteed because it contained a serious design flaw from inception."

By John Manganaro

The latest Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) lawsuit, emerging from the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, targets CenturyLink for alleged mismanagement of an active large cap U.S. stock fund offered to defined contribution plan participants.

By way of background, in 2011, CenturyLink appointed its subsidiary CenturyLink Investment Management (CIM) as its retirement plan investment fiduciary. In 2012, CIM formed the CenturyLink, Inc. Defined Contribution Plan Master Trust and merged the assets of its two 401(k) plans into the master trust. According to the text of the complaint, through the master trust, CIM then reestablished the investment options for the plan considered here, including a number of custom funds designed by CIM.