The current economic setting only heightens fiduciary liability. Last year, the DOL logged more than 4.5 corrected violations per business day. With aggressive litigators using technology to sniff out these violators and others, what’s a 401k plan sponsor to do?
Tag "Conflicts of Interest"
Why some target date investors should be furious, why expecting 401k plan sponsors to comment on a change they don’t understand would be asking far too much and just see what he says about 12b-1 fees.
These three issues linger like a ticking time bomb. They’re out there. They’re going to go off at some point. We just don’t know when. Plan fiduciaries need to get ready for them.
These next three months may prove a watershed for 401k plan sponsors as new rules will dramatically alter how 401k plan sponsors manage their companies’ retirement plans.
Too many accept the definition of “fees” without deliberation. Yet, even by looking solely at the fees associated with investment choice, the fiduciary can land in a state of confusion. This only increases liability. How can we fix this?
The question now on the mind of every 401k fiduciary: Will the DOL’s new rule increase my personal fiduciary liability?
Many feel the DOL rightly reversed earlier rules that allowed for too many potential conflicts-of-interest. But, will any new DOL guidelines only encourage a “cookie-cutter” approach, doing the investor more harm than good?
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.
SEC’s Mary Shapiro: “When it comes to 12b-1 fees, there is a need for more fundamental change than mere disclosure reforms and a name change.” FiduciaryNews’ exploration of this hot potato reveals a surprising misconception.
The SEC does the right thing, and some 401k fiduciaries may find they’ve been doing the wrong thing.
