John Hancock Stays Mum on Whether It's a 401(k) Fiduciary

In a recent DailyFinance article, I raised the question of whether John Hancock, the largest full-service provider to 401(k) plans in this country -- 42,000 plans with over 1.7 million participants -- is a real fiduciary. I noted that John Hancock certainly had all the characteristics of a fiduciary. It represented itself as the industry leader in providing "fiduciary responsibility support," and it provided employers with an impressive "fiduciary standards warranty."