401(k) fiduciaries can prudently include private equity as a component of an ERISA plan's diversified investment option, such as a target date fund. The Court found that the state statute "binds ERISA plan administrators to a particular choice of rules for determining beneficiary status.A Fund can be deemed a plan asset entity (and thus be subject to ERISA) if its equity holders include Benefit Plans. The origins of the modern private equity industry trace back to 1946 with the formation of the first venture capital firms. Gilbert Meadows III, an investment adviser at Merrill Lynch's Montgomery branch office, provided advisory services to both plans. The early history of private equity relates to one of the major periods in the history of private equity and venture capital. What are the chemicals in the Groundwater? Are these chemicals harmful?