TIAA Beats ERISA Suit Claiming Self-Interested Rollover Advice

TIAA defeated a lawsuit claiming it pushes clients from low-fee 401(k) plans to expensive alternatives, when a Manhattan federal judge said Wednesday that the company’s rollover advice didn’t give rise to ERISA liability.

The proposed class of investors suing Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America failed to show that the company acted as a fiduciary under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, which is fatal to their claims under the statute, Judge Katherine Polk Failla of the US District Court for the Southern District of New York said.

The lawsuit accuses TIAA of abusing its position as a record ...