Readers of FiduciaryNews.com have come to expect a double scoop of year end treats. This week we offer a compellation of the most popular of those articles from the past twelve months. They say there is wisdom in crowds, and discovering what interests your peers most can give you an important edge.

Here’s the countdown for your edification. Read. Enjoy. Discover.

Honorable Mention:

These stories didn’t quite make the cut in the top five, but they were close. They’ll definitely prime you for the top five.

Top FiduciaryNews.com Stories in 2019 – Honorable Mention #4: “The Fiduciary Duty to Investigate Conflicts-of-Interests with ‘Zero’ and ‘Negative’ Fee Funds,” (FiduciaryNews.com, June 4, 2019)
We mentioned this fiduciary concern when Fidelity introduced “zero” fee funds in 2018 (it was the #5 most read article last year and there’s a link to that article in this one). This story follows up on that theme with more detailed analysis – and still greater concern.

Top FiduciaryNews.com Stories in 2019 – Honorable Mention #3: “5 Areas Where Target Date Funds Increase 401k Plan Sponsors’ Fiduciary Liability,” (FiduciaryNews.com, March 26, 2019)
These things spread like a virus within the 401k plans over the past dozen or so years. Just as suddenly, everyone began to worry that maybe following the lemmings wasn’t such a good idea. Here’s proof of just where the major areas of concern were (and perhaps continue to be).

Top FiduciaryNews.com Stories in 2019 – Honorable Mention #2: “What Will Replace ‘Fiduciary’?” (FiduciaryNews.com, July 23, 2019)
You could hear the resounding “thud” when the SEC released it’s long-awaited “Regulation B-I.” The SEC found it couldn’t replace the DOL’s now defunct “Fiduciary Rule” (not that it really wanted to). But that didn’t stop the market for figuring things out by itself.

Top FiduciaryNews.com Stories in 2019 – Honorable Mention #1: “Will 401k Plan Sponsors Fall for These Over-Hyped Topics?” (FiduciaryNews.com, January 8, 2019)
Did the 2019 steak match the 2018 sizzle of these 5 topics? Perhaps we’ll find the answer in an early 2020 story.

The Top Five FiduciaryNews.com 2019 Stories:

Here’s the countdown you’ve been waiting for. Why do you think these particular stories were so widely read? What does that fact tell you about the interests of plan sponsors, their service providers, and retirement industry regulators? The articles that caught the greatest interest may indicate not only answers people seek but future directions they intend to go. Let’s take a look.

Top FiduciaryNews.com Stories in 2019 – #5: “What’s the Difference Between 3(38) and 3(21) 401k Advisers?” (FiduciaryNews.com, August 6, 2019)
Who would have thought that after all these years this question would remain a compelling one? Our readers did (and Forbes.com readers did, too, since companion pieces were published there, too).

Top FiduciaryNews.com Stories in 2019 – #4: “The 5 Biggest Worries of 401k Plan Sponsors and What To Do About Them,” (FiduciaryNews.com, November 12, 2019)
In any annual compilation like this, the advantage certainly goes to the articles published earlier in the year. So when an article published in November moves into the top five most read stories of the year, you know it’s significant. More significant, however, is the top worry identified in this article. It’s about time.

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Top FiduciaryNews.com Stories in 2019 – #3: “401k Plan Sponsors Are Asking For These Employee Educational Topics,” (FiduciaryNews.com, April 9, 2019)
Long banished to the back of the class, financial education has slowly moved up as a higher priority list item for plan sponsors. Part of this is due to solving other priorities. Part of this is due to improvements in technology that makes it easier to deliver education. Most important, however, is a better understanding of what matters most when it comes to employee retirement and the plans that serve them.

Top FiduciaryNews.com Stories in 2019 – #2: “How QDIAs Have Changed the Fiduciary Role of 401k Plan Sponsors,” (FiduciaryNews.com, March 12, 2019)
Picture this article as a lead-in to Honorable Mention #3 above. As plan participants have come to rely on QDUAs more and more, plan sponsors have started to wonder if this was “another fine mess they’ve gotten themselves into.”

Top FiduciaryNews.com Stories in 2019 – #1: “A Fiduciary Focus: 5 Steps 401k Plan Sponsors Should Resolve to Take in 2019,” (FiduciaryNews.com, January 2, 2019)
Don’t let this early publication date fool you (it was, in fact, the first article published in 2019). We’ve been tracking this article as the most read article throughout the year. The title explains it all. It’s definitive, it’s timely, and it implies (and the article provides) specific steps to take.

If you think the matters discussed in these articles are important, just wait until next week when we present the Decade’s top five All-Time FiduciaryNews.com articles!

Christopher Carosa is a keynote speaker, journalist, and the author of  401(k) Fiduciary Solutions,  Hey! What’s My Number? How to Improve the Odds You Will Retire in Comfort, From Cradle to Retirement: The Child IRA – How to start a newborn on the road to a comfortable retirement while still in a cozy cradle, and several other books on innovative retirement solutions, practical business tips, and the history of the wonderful Western New York region. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

Mr. Carosa is available for keynote speaking engagements, especially in venues located in the Northeast, MidAtantic and Midwestern regions of the United States and in the Toronto region of Canada