Baird v. Blackrock Institutional Trust Co., N.A.

322 F. Supp. 3d 966
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. California
DecidedJuly 20, 2018
DocketCase No. 17-cv-01892-HSG (KAW)
StatusPublished

This text of 322 F. Supp. 3d 966 (Baird v. Blackrock Institutional Trust Co., N.A.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Baird v. Blackrock Institutional Trust Co., N.A., 322 F. Supp. 3d 966 (N.D. Cal. 2018).

Opinion

KANDIS A. WESTMORE, United States Magistrate Judge

On April 5, 2017, Plaintiffs filed the instant putative class action against Defendants, alleging violations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act's ("ERISA") fiduciary duty and prohibited transactions provisions. (Compl. ¶ 1, Dkt. No. 1.) The parties filed four joint discovery letters on June 7, 2018, and a fifth joint discovery letter on June 8, 2018. (Dkt. Nos. 114-117, 119.) On July 19, 2018, the Court held a discovery hearing on two of the letters.

I. BACKGROUND

Plaintiffs bring this case on behalf of two classes: the "BlackRock Plan Class," which consists of participants and beneficiaries in the BlackRock Retirement Savings Plan, and the "CTI Class," which includes participants whose individual accounts were invested in BlackRock proprietary collective trust investment funds ("CTIs"). (First Amended Compl. ¶ 1 ("FAC"), Dkt. No. 75.) Plaintiffs allege that Defendants violated their fiduciary duties under ERISA in two ways. (FAC ¶ 3.) First, Plaintiffs allege that Defendant BlackRock sponsored a 401(k) plan for its employees, in which Defendant "BlackRock offers an investment menu consisting almost entirely of BlackRock proprietary funds, and charges participants excessive, hidden fees, expenses and other compensation paid to BlackRock and its affiliates, through a layered fund structure." (FAC ¶ 5.) Second, Plaintiffs allege that Defendant BlackRock Institutional Trust Co. ("BTC"), which provides management services, gave itself and its affiliates preferential treatment as to compensation paid by the BlackRock CTIs. (FAC ¶¶ 6, 23.) This alleged preferential treatment included paying itself excessive fees for securities lending services. (FAC ¶ 6.)

II. LEGAL STANDARD

Under Rule 26, in a civil action, a party may obtain discovery "regarding any non-privileged matter that is relevant to any party's claim or defense and proportional to the needs of the case considering the importance of the issues at stake in the action, the amount in controversy, the parties' relative access to relevant information, the parties' resources, the importance *970of the discovery in resolving the issues, and whether the burden or expense of the proposed discovery outweighs its likely benefit." Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(1). Additionally, the court must limit the frequency or extent of discovery if it determines that: "(i) the discovery sought is unreasonably cumulative or duplicative, or can be obtained from some other source that is more convenient, less burdensome, or less expensive; (ii) the party seeking discovery has had ample opportunity to obtain the information by discovery in the action; or (iii) the proposed discovery is outside the scope permitted by Rule 26(b)(1)." Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(2)(C).

III. DISCUSSION

A. Joint Discovery Letter No. 1 (Dkt. No. 114)

Joint Discovery Letter No. 1 concerns Plaintiff's Request for Production No. 33, which seeks documentation and communications concerning changes to revenue sharing splits between Defendant BlackRock and investors in iShares1 ETFs and mutual funds for securities lending revenue. (Dkt. No. 114 at 1.) These ETFs and mutual funds are not at issue in the case.

Securities lending revenue is generated when a fund lends securities that it owns to a borrower in exchange for collateral, which is reinvested to generate additional revenue for the fund. (Id. ) Plaintiffs assert that Defendant BTC charges the BlackRock CTIs a fee of 50% of this revenue for its securities lending services. (Id. at 2; FAC ¶ 256.) Plaintiffs allege that this 50% fee is excessive because Defendant BTC charges investors in similar BlackRock ETFs and mutual funds a fee of 15-30% for the same services. (Dkt. No. 114 at 2; FAC ¶¶ 259-60.) Plaintiffs further allege that Defendant BTC receives less compensation for its securities lending services to these other BlackRock ETFs and mutual funds because those fund investors are represented by independent fiduciaries, whereas Defendant BTC is the sole fiduciary representing the BlackRock CTIs investors. (Dkt. No. 114 at 2; FAC ¶¶ 257-58.) To this end, Plaintiffs seek the requested documents to determine how and why the securities lending fees for the mutual funds and ETFs were reduced when the fees paid by the BlackRock CTIs remained at 50%. (Dkt. No. 114 at 4.)

Defendants argue that the discovery is not relevant because the CTIs are different from the mutual funds and ETFs, such that the fees charged are not comparable. (Dkt. No. 114 at 4.) Defendants primarily argue that the CTIs "consist[ ] of an integrated offering of investment management and securities lending, in exchange for an integrated or 'bundled' set of fees," in contrast to the mutual funds and ETFs, for whom the securities lending services "have been negotiated a la carte ...." (Id. at 4-5.) Defendants also point to structural differences, including "distinct services arrangements, compensation arrangements, reporting requirements, lending strategies, and management style," as well as "a distinct regulatory framework." (Id. )

The Court disagrees. First, the Court finds that it does not appear the 50% securities lending fee was a "bundled set of fees" that included both securities lending and investment management services. In Defendants' motion to dismiss, Defendants' argument was based on the CTIs paying a securities lending fee that was separate from investment management fees, stating: "[t]he Plan's payment of only securities lending compensation, with no investment management fees , is self-evidently reasonable." (Dkt. No. 79 at 21 (emphasis added).) Defendants also filed a declaration *971by Mr. Matthew Soifer, who oversees the negotiation of agreements by which sponsors of large plans invest in collective trust funds, stating: "Almost all of the [sponsors] that invest in the Lending [collective trust funds] invest pursuant to an agreement which provides that BTC shall receive both an investment management fee and 50% of securities lending income associated with the investment." (Dkt. No. 79-19 ¶ 5 (emphasis added).) Likewise, the "16 Things You Should Know" document2 explains that the income earned from securities lending transactions are divided equally between Defendant BTC and the CTIs, and that "[t]he income divided is net of cash collateral management fees and the accrued borrower rebate fees." (Dkt. No. 125, Exh. 3 at BAIRD_046154.) All of this demonstrates that, contrary to Defendants' claim, the CTIs do not pay a single integrated fee for investment management and securities lending services, and that the 50% securities lending fee is for the securities lending service only. This was confirmed at the hearing, in which Defendants primarily argued that there was an integrated offering of the services, but that the amount of the securities lending fee itself was 50%.

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322 F. Supp. 3d 966, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/baird-v-blackrock-institutional-trust-co-na-cand-2018.