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Originally Posted by Zanzibar789
So here is the answer to your multifaceted stupidities.
First, don't use words if you don't know what they mean.
"Fiduciary duty" or "fiduciary responsibility" has a particular meaning and, contrary to what you ignorantly believe, it PREVENTS Hobby Lobby from hand picking stocks, unless they are begging to get sued for breach of fiduciary duty.
A ten second search of the Internet would have found this Department of Labor webpage:
http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/publications...nsibility.html
It is the FIRST link that comes up if you Google "employer 401k fiduciary responsibility".
The decision to have a 401k plan is a business decision. However, once that decision is made, the employer has a fiduciary duty to the EMPLOYEE and NOT to the company to take care of the 401k plan. These fiduciary responsibilities are almost entirely financial in nature.
Here is the list of fiduciary responsibilities from the Department of Labor. I have emphasized keywords for your simple minded benefit:
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Fiduciaries have important responsibilities and are subject to standards of conduct because they act on behalf of participants in a retirement plan and their beneficiaries. These responsibilities include:
- Acting solely in the interest of plan participants and their beneficiaries and with the exclusive purpose of providing benefits to them;
- Carrying out their duties prudently;
- Following the plan documents (unless inconsistent with ERISA);
- Diversifying plan investments; and
- Paying only reasonable plan expenses.
The duty to act prudently is one of a fiduciary’s central responsibilities under ERISA. It requires expertise in a variety of areas, such as investments.
Lacking that expertise, a fiduciary will want to hire someone with that professional knowledge to carry out the investment and other functions. Prudence focuses on the
process for making fiduciary decisions. Therefore, it is wise to document decisions and the basis for those decisions. For instance, in hiring any plan service provider, a fiduciary may want to survey a number of potential providers, asking for the same information and providing the same requirements. By doing so, a fiduciary can document the process and make a meaningful comparison and selection.
Following the terms of the plan document is also an important responsibility. The document serves as the foundation for plan operations. Employers will want to be familiar with their plan document, especially when it is drawn up by a third-party service provider, and periodically review the document to make sure it remains current. For example, if a plan official named in the document changes, the plan document must be updated to reflect that change.
Diversification – another key fiduciary duty – helps to minimize the risk of large investment losses to the plan. Fiduciaries should consider each plan investment as part of the plan’s entire portfolio. Once again, fiduciaries will want to document their evaluation and investment decisions.
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Do you see ANYTHING in that list that would allow an employer to hand pick stocks for exclusion to suit the EMPLOYER's religious beliefs?
The employer has to act
solely for the financial benefit of the employee. The company cannot act for its own benefit.
Pharma stocks make big money. So do oil companies.
If a company decides to prevent an employee from investing the employee's money in pharma stock because of the employer's religious beliefs, the company is in BREACH of its fiduciary duty. The company is detrimentally preventing an employee from earning the high returns that pharma stocks yield.
If a company decides to prevent an employee from investing the employee's money in oil stock because of the employer's environmental beliefs, the company is in BREACH of its fiduciary duty. The company is detrimentally preventing an employee from earning the high returns that oil stocks yield.
A company cannot even prevent an employee from investing 401k money in a direct COMPETITOR. Apple cannot prevent employees from investing in Samsung. How do you like them apples?
Harvard University has a huge endowment. If students pressure Harvard to divest its endowment from Israeli companies in sympathy with the Palestinian cause, Harvard can do that if it chooses because the endowment belongs to Harvard.
Bur Harvard cannot prevent its employees from investing 401k funds in Israeli companies because the 401k money belongs to the employees and Harvard would be breaching its fiduciary responsibilities.
EVEN IF they did so at a quarterly meeting, moron.
Now, do you see how that works?