BlackRock’s $9.65 Million 401(k) Settlement Clears Final Hurdle

BlackRock Institutional Trust Co.'s $9.65 million settlement with employees challenging the in-house funds in their 401(k) plan received final approval from a California federal judge, as did a $3.4 million award of attorneys’ fees and expenses for class counsel.

The settlement represents about 28% of the damages the employees intended to prove at trial, which is within the range of similar Employee Retirement Income Security Act settlements, Judge Haywood S. Gilliam Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California said Wednesday. And while class counsel’s requested fees of 29% of the settlement amount are “higher than ...