Earlier this year, two other AOL Time Warner shareholders - the University of California and the Amalgamated Bank's Long View Collective Investment Fund - alleged in a lawsuit that some of the firm's top executives boosted its share price through bogus transactions.

BBC: AOL.com

Their successes, such as the IRA and 401(k) legislation, fueled the boom in mutual fund and other collective investment vehicles aimed at the retail investor.

FORBES: Pension Consultant Shenanigans (September 4, 2004 )

"Collective trusts provide the overall benefits of a mutual fund such as professional investment management, a broadly diversified portfolio of holdings, and the like generally at a much more effective price point, " says Winfield Evens, a partner and director at Aon Hewitt, a human-resources consulting firm based in Lincolnshire, Ill.

WSJ: Why 'Collective Trusts' Are Worth Considering