Four Deere & Co. employees have filed a class action alleging that Fidelity Investments is charging "unreasonable" fees and expenses in the Moline, Ill., farm equipment manufacturer's retirement savings plan.
The lawsuit, filed Dec. 7 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin, could include thousands of other Deere employees who participate in the 401(k) plan.
The plaintiffs claim in the suit that the Boston fund company assessed expenses that "were, or are, unreasonable and/or not incurred solely for the benefit of plan participants."
The suit also alleges that Fidelity shared some of its fee revenue with Deere.
Vin Loporchio, a spokesman for Fidelity, said, "We disagree with many of the assertions in the complaint, and we intend to defend the suit vigorously. … We believe the fees charged by Fidelity are reasonable and our retail mutual funds are commonly selected by 401(k) fiduciaries, and they consistently rank among the lowest-priced mutual funds."
Fidelity has $662.3 billion of 401(k) assets under management.
