Who is NOT considered a fiduciary under ERISA?

Under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), fiduciaries are individuals or entities that manage and control plan assets and have a responsibility to act in the best interests of plan participants and beneficiaries. Plan sponsors, trustees of the plan, and investment managers clearly fit this definition as they directly influence the management of the plan or its assets.

Attorneys, accountants, and actuaries, while they may provide essential services to the plan, are generally not considered fiduciaries unless they have discretionary authority or control over the plan assets or participate in the decision-making process in a way that impacts the plan. Their roles are typically advisory or supportive, rather than managerial with respect to the plan's assets. Therefore, they do not carry the same level of fiduciary responsibility as those who directly manage or control the plan. This distinction is crucial to understanding fiduciary duty under ERISA and clarifies why the correct answer identifies attorneys, accountants, and actuaries as not being fiduciaries in the context described.