Cite as: 510 U. S. 86 (1993)
Opinion of the Court
and policy." Pilot Life Ins. Co. v. Dedeaux, 481 U. S. 41, 51 (1987), quoting Kelly v. Robinson, 479 U. S. 36, 43 (1986) (internal quotation marks omitted). The obligations of an ERISA fiduciary are described in 29 U. S. C. § 1104(a)(1): A fiduciary must discharge its duties with respect to a plan
"solely in the interest of the participants and beneficiaries and—
"(A) for the exclusive purpose of: "(i) providing benefits to participants and their beneficiaries . . . ."
A person is a fiduciary with respect to an employee benefit plan
"to the extent (i) he exercises any discretionary authority or discretionary control respecting management of such plan or exercises any authority or control respecting management or disposition of its assets . . . ." 29 U. S. C. § 1002(21)(A) (emphasis added).
The "assets" of a plan are undefined except by exclusion in § 1101(b)(2), which reads in relevant part:
"In the case of a plan to which a guaranteed benefit policy is issued by an insurer, the assets of such plan shall be deemed to include such policy, but shall not, solely by reason of the issuance of such policy, be deemed to include any assets of such insurer."
A "guaranteed benefit policy," in turn, is defined as
"an insurance policy or contract to the extent that such policy or contract provides for benefits the amount of which is guaranteed by the insurer. Such term includes any surplus in a separate account, but excludes any other portion of a separate account." § 1101(b)(2)(B).4
4 As noted by Goldberg and Altman, the term "guaranteed benefit contract . . . has never been a part of the insurance industry lexicon." Goldberg & Altman 482. ERISA itself must thus supply the term's meaning.
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