For all of the attention given to the word "fiduciary" in the business and mainstream media over the past two years, a lot of plan sponsors have not gotten the memo.

According to data from AllianceBernstein, half of plan sponsors don’t think they are fiduciaries. Under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, any employer sponsor of a retirement plan is a fiduciary.

Perhaps more troubling is the fact that sponsors’ awareness of their legal role as fiduciaries is down 19 points since 2011, according to the investment management firm.

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Nick Thornton

Nick Thornton is a financial writer covering retirement and health care issues for BenefitsPRO and ALM Media. He greatly enjoys learning from the vast minds in the legal, academic, advisory and money management communities when covering the retirement space. He's also written on international marketing trends, financial institution risk management, defense and energy issues, the restaurant industry in New York City, surfing, cigars, rum, travel, and fishing. When not writing, he's pushing into some land or water.