Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/19pdf/18-1116_h3cj.pdf
Page Number: 5.0

Cite as:  589 U. S. ____ (2020) 

3 

Opinion of the Court 

turn  invested  in  two  funds  managed  by  the  Intel  Invest-
ment  Policy  Committee.1   These  funds  mostly  comprised
stocks and bonds.  After the stock market decline in 2008, 
however, the committee increased the funds’ shares of al-
ternative assets, such as hedge funds, private equity, and 
commodities.  These  assets  carried  relatively  high  fees.
And as the stock market rebounded, Sulyma’s funds lagged 
behind others such as index funds. 

Sulyma filed this suit on behalf of a putative class in Oc-
tober 2015, alleging primarily that the committee and other 
plan  administrators  (petitioners  here)  had  breached  their
fiduciary duties by overinvesting in alternative assets.  Pe-
titioners  countered  that  the  suit  was  untimely  under 
§1113(2).  Although Sulyma filed it within six years of the
alleged breaches, he filed it more than three years after pe-
titioners had disclosed their investment decisions to him. 

ERISA and its implementing regulations mandate vari-
ous  disclosures  to  plan  participants.    See  generally  29
U. S. C. §§1021–1031; see also Gobeille v. Liberty Mut. Ins. 
Co., 577 U. S. ___, ___–___ (2016).  Sulyma received numer-
ous disclosures while working at Intel, some explaining the
extent to which his retirement plans were invested in alter-
native assets.  In November 2011, for example, he received 
an  e-mail  informing  him  that  a  Qualified  Default  Invest-
ment Alternative (QDIA) notice was available on a website
called  NetBenefits,  where  many  of  his  disclosures  were
hosted.  See App. 149–151; see also 29 CFR §§2550.404c–
5(b)–(d) (2019) (QDIA notices); §2520.104b–1(c) (regulating 
electronic disclosure).  This notice broke down the percent-
ages at which his 401(k) fund was invested in stocks, bonds, 
hedge funds, and commodities.  See App. 236.  In 2012, he 
received  a  summary  plan  description  explaining  that  the 

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1 Specifically the Intel Global Diversified Fund, in which his retirement 
contribution plan was automatically invested, and the Intel Target Date 
2045 Fund, which he chose for his 401(k) plan.