By Christopher Carosa, CTFA | July 3, 2012
Any talk of mutual fund expense ratios only diverts attention away from the true issue at hand – what are the true costs of those non-mutual fund products that make up nearly half of all 401k investments?
Read the full story...
Posted in Fees | Tagged 12b-1, 401k, Carhartt, David Abbey, DOL, expense ratio, Fee Disclosure Rule, fiduciary, ICI, load, mutual fund, passive-active
By Christopher Carosa, CTFA | November 29, 2011
Worse, “all-in” might not be all it’s meant to be, possibly invalidating other results from the same survey. Here’s why.
Read the full story...
Posted in Conflicts of Interest | Tagged All-In, fee, Fee Disclosure Rule, ICI, ICI 2011 Fee Study, investment option, Pension Protection Act of 2006
By Christopher Carosa, CTFA | October 11, 2011
The ICI comes out with a study that makes it look easy, but what’s the catch?
Read the full story...
Posted in Fees | Tagged 401k, Fee Disclosure, Fiduciary Solutions, ICI, Investment Company Institute
By Christopher Carosa, CTFA | April 26, 2011
Fee disclosures will become the trending topic among 401k plan sponsors and fiduciaries. It will be tempting to overweight this parameter. But if your plan has an index fund or you’ve ever contemplated using index funds, this book contains one piece of data you absolutely must have.
Read the full story...
Posted in Fees | Tagged 401k, 401k Averages Book, Book Review, fee, fiduciary, ICI, index fund, liability, mutual fund, PSCA, recordkeeping
By Christopher Carosa, CTFA | November 9, 2010
Was a major financial professional organization covering up some important data in their comment letter to the SEC? Or is the industry’s 401k defense of 12b-1 fees much ado about nothing?
Read the full story...
Posted in Conflicts of Interest | Tagged 12b-1, Aikin, Alfred, Ferrigno, fiduciary, ICI, liability, Power, Wohlner
By Christopher Carosa, CTFA | February 15, 2010
Why wait until now to bring up the three-month old blog? The bigger question, however, remains, “How should a 401k fiduciary analyze mutual fund fees?”
Read the full story...
Posted in Fees | Tagged 12b-1, 401k, Andy Rachleff, BrightScope, commission, DOL, fee, ICI, Investment Company Institute, Jones vs. Harris, kaChing, load, mutual fund, SEC, soft dollar, tax costs
By Christopher Carosa, CTFA | December 8, 2009
The SEC does the right thing, and some 401k fiduciaries may find they’ve been doing the wrong thing.
Read the full story...
Posted in Conflicts of Interest | Tagged 12b-1, 12b-1 fees, 12b1, 401(k) plan, 401k, adviser, annuities, Annuity, broker, Christopher Cox, conflict of interest, Conflicts of Interest, Cox, fiduciary, ICI, investment, Investment Company Institute, Investment News, liability, Mary Schapiro, mutual fund, Reuters, salesman, Schapiro, SEC, Securities and Exchange Commission
By Christopher Carosa, CTFA | November 19, 2009
Worried while Washington fiddles? These three vital questions might just help you determine if today’s DOL ruling will increase your personal fiduciary liability.
Read the full story...
Posted in Conflicts of Interest | Tagged 12b-1, 12b-1 fees, 12b1, 401k, behavior, behavioral economics, behavioral finance, Borzi, broker, broker-dealer exemption, bundled, Bush, commission, conflict, conflict of interest, Conflicts of Interest, Congress, default, default investment, Department of Labor, Diagnostic, DOL, Employee Benefits Security Administration, ERISA, fiduciary, Fiduciary News, Fiduciary Standard, George Miller, House, House Education and Labor Committee, ICI, Investment Advice Rule, Investment News, investment option, Investment-Advice, liability, Miller, Modern Portfolio Theory, MPT, mutual fund, Obama, Phyllis C. Borzi, Plan Diagnostic, Plan Diagnostic Test, registered investment adviser, service provider, sweet-bun.info, target date, target date fund, vendor, Washington, Washington DC
By Christopher Carosa, CTFA | October 21, 2009
Investors have decided to flee two asset classes: stocks, perhaps because of their dramatic gains in the last six months; and cash, perhaps because of historically low interest rates. In either case, investors have signaled their lack of confidence in a near term recovery in the American economy.
Read the full story...
Posted in Due Diligence | Tagged bonds, Due Diligence, Hewitt Associates, ICI, mutual funds, participants, Pensions & Investments
FiduciaryNews Trending Topics for ERISA Plan Sponsors: Week Ending 11/16/12
By Christopher Carosa, CTFA | November 19, 2012
Will retirees pay for Washington’s fiscal mismanagement? Has pinning the fiduciary onus on plan sponsors been the wrong approach all along? And more…
Read the full story...Posted in Trending Topics | Tagged 401k, behavioral economics, Blaine Aikin, Bob Clark, common trust, fiduciary, Fiduciary Rule, ICI, Ivy Asset Management, Madoff, Modern Portfolio Theory, mutual fund, mutual funds, pension, Phyllis Borzi, Regulated Investment Company, retirement, Ron Rhoades, stable value, Super IRA | Leave a response