RES IPSA LOQUITUR
“the thing itself speaks”
FIDUCIARY GOVERNANCE:
TRUST ME
By Diana K. Powell, Esq.
“The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them.”
— Ernest Hemingway
T
he term fiduciary comes from the Latin term fiducia
which means “trust.” According to the Department
of Labor (DOL) a plan fiduciary is “a person or
entity that uses discretion in administering and managing
a plan or controlling a plan’s assets to the extent of that
person or entity has discretion or control.” This operation
of a plan is the exercise of fiduciary governance of plan
fiduciaries.
Under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act
(ERISA) 404(a)(1) “… a fiduciary shall discharge his
duties with respect to a plan solely in the interest of the
participants and beneficiaries and for the exclusive purpose
of:
• Providing benefits to participants and their
beneficiaries; and
• Defraying reasonable expenses of
administering the plan.
ERISA 404(a)(1)(A) the Duty of Loyalty to plan
participants and their beneficiaries requires that in
discharging his fiduciary duties, the fiduciary’s decisions
… “Must be made with an eye single to the interests of the
participants and be