Oddly, it’s usually the opposite for mutual funds. Actively managed (higher operating cost) funds tend to perform better during market downturns. Passive (lower operating cost) funds, on the other hand, generally perform better during growth markets.
Conflicts of Interest
You cannot understate the fiduciary aspect of lower fees. Most 401k plan sponsors, and especially those in smaller plans, don’t have the time or expertise to administer their company’s retirement plan. If they skimp on fees, are they also skimping on the fiduciary protection those professionals are supposed to provide?
Even if ERISA does not cover the Thrift Savings Plan, it’s worth noting the exercise of this discussion may be worthwhile to those actually do bear ERISA fiduciary responsibility.
While diligence is to be applauded, that’s not to say you can’t carry it to an extreme. If fact, some folks are so hung up on fees, they sometimes fail to see the bigger picture.
Clearly, you wouldn’t pay more for 2 apples if you could get 3 for the same price, but would you pay more to get 2 oranges instead?
Despite this, 401k plan sponsors can better protect their employees, even when it comes to personal data, because that data is only acquired within the context of the service provider’s relationship to the plan.
You can squeeze a tube of toothpaste all you want, but that doesn’t change how much toothpaste it holds. Are we experiencing the same thing with 401k fees, or are they really dropping as much as we think? And, if they are dropping, are they dropping for the right reasons?
Once a person enters retirement, the number of scenarios proliferate. Unless the plan sponsor is a financial professional, it’s going to be a challenge to quickly comprehend all these options.
Today, the understanding of conflict-of-interest fees goes well beyond plan sponsors. Individual investors also understand how they can act as a better fiduciary for their own personal investments.
Therein lies the conundrum. In the current environment, it may be far easier to overlook the failure to meet benchmarks with adequate consistency than it is to ignore the du jour ad hoc definition of woke.
