When outside consultants or attorneys are ERISA fiduciaries
| Can an outside consultant or attorney be an ERISA fiduciary? |
|
Attorneys and accountants who render ordinary legal, accounting, or consulting services to an employee benefit plan are not fiduciaries. But, if in rendering such advice, attorneys or accountants exercise discretionary authority over the management of the plan, disposition of the plan assets, or administration of the plan, they cannot escape the fiduciary designation. For example, accountants become an ERISA fiduciary when they "recommend transactions, structure deals, and provide investment advice to such an extent that the accountant exercises effective control over the ESOP's assets, since none of the other corporate insiders had the expertise in accounting and employee benefits law needed to spin the tangled web of transactions at issue." |
