BlackRock wins 36(b) Lawsuit

In a major victory for BlackRock, a federal judge in New Jersey ordered the dismissal of plaintiffs’ claims of excessive fees charged to two funds.  The plaintiffs claimed that the fees charged to the BlackRock fund investors were substantially higher than fees charged to funds sub-advised by BlackRock although the funds were serviced in the same manner. Hartford Services in 2017 and Axa Equitable in 2016 secured victories in 36(b) lawsuits in which the plaintiffs used similar arguments. The judge in the BlackRock case has ordered that the full ruling be sealed for 30 days, according to Reuters.