You conspicuously ignore the VCs here. They were not obliged to do jack. Neither were the founders who took more money than they could successfully apply. It's

You conspicuously ignore the VCs here. They were not obliged to do jack. Neither were the founders who took more money than they could successfully apply. It's funny how many people here are stubbornly unable to find the people with moral agency in the startup funding chain. But yes, part of fiduciary duty is acting for the benefit of the person whose money you are holding. That obliges them to get the best return possible, no more and no less. If a lack of good opportunities means that the best actual return is a lower one than people hoped, that's the job. Because it's not like the people whose pension money went into FTX are going to do particularly well on the deal either.