Photo of Brian Gaj

Brian practices in the firm's Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation practice group where he brings his vast experience (over 30 years), depth and breadth of knowledge, and creativity to addressing pension and fiduciary issues under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), including pension investment issues. He reviews the ERISA investment aspects of all types of pension plan investments, including private equity funds, collective investment trusts, and 401(k) annuity distribution products, as well as investment management agreements and outsourced chief investment officer (“OCIO”) arrangements. Brian’s experience includes participating on the team that obtained an opinion letter from the Department of Labor on permissible settlor actions.

Alternative assets are nothing new for retirement plans. Defined benefit plans have held private equity, real estate, and commodities for decades, and ERISA itself imposes no restriction on the types of assets a plan may hold. What is new is the push to bring alternative investments into the 401(k) world.

In a recent Thompson Hine