Should the ideal 401k fiduciary face the problem head on or ignore it? What if there’s an easy alternative that’s already been proven to be better?
Due Diligence
With even insiders questioning their appropriateness, it’s easy to understand why 401k plan sponsors continue to feel uncomfortable with ETFs. What exactly did these experts say?
It is this latter case that may expose the unsuspecting fiduciary to greater liability. ERISA plan sponsors interested in reducing their fiduciary liability must stay up-to-date on these developments.
The race is on between finding an adequate solution for TDFs and one sudden market cataclysm that spurs a slew of fiduciary liability lawsuits.
While one might ask why it took this product 50 years to become popular, a better question might be why had the product failed to spark much interest during those decades.
These vast unknowns inherent with Target Date Funds have perhaps created a new fiduciary liability where none previously existed.
“I selected the Target Date Funds to reduce my fiduciary liability. Are you telling me this actually raises my fiduciary liability?” The panel merely looked at each other and laughed.
FiduciaryNews asked several prominent independent investment advisers what they felt about the joint agency RFI. They revealed six major concerns every 401k fiduciary must consider regarding annuities.
Sometimes something that appears too good to be true really is. Professionals have long known the potential pitfalls of ETFs. Only recently have these facts become more widely known. Don’t be surprised if, like a tube of toothpaste, squeezing one problem away only creates a bulge in a different problem.
2009 exposed a much deeper problem with Target Date Funds. Pitched as the be-all-and-end-all to 401k investors, these funds fell flat on their collective face as 2008’s down market exposed them as more sizzle than steak. Washington might help, but a knee-jerk reaction to 2008 is not a good solution at all.
