If the DOL requires the 401k plan fiduciary to ignore a fundâs investment performance, but the SEC still requires funds to disclose that performance, which will 401k investors choose? More importantly, whoâs left holding the liability bag?
Tag "Fees"
Should indirect fees matter? Academics may argue, but regulators will have the final say. Unfortunately, different definitions of fees only confound the ERISA fiduciary.
Too many accept the definition of âfeesâ 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?
As usual, be careful about elixirs marketed as cure-alls. Personally involved in creating CITs in the early 1990s specifically to market to 401k plans, Iâll share my experiences with you here.
$16.5 million is a large price to pay for disclosure and due diligence a plan fiduciary can simply and consistently address. This may be the easiest action a 401k plan fiduciary to take to prevent the camel from sticking his nose under the tent.
SEC’s Mary Shapiro: âWhen it comes to 12b-1 fees, there is a need for more fundamental change than mere disclosure reforms and a name change.â FiduciaryNewsâ exploration of this hot potato reveals a surprising misconception.
The DOL admits, due to the number of variables involved, there’s no easy way to calculate the fees and expenses paid by your 401(k) plan. You might be surprised who the DOL suggests trying to find the answers to the following ten questions from.
Contrary to popular press reports, economic theory clearly suggests paying high fees is justified. Hereâs the cruel irony and the greatest danger posed by the myth of high mutual fund fees: by taking back some of the responsibility normally delegated to professional advisers, an active fiduciary may in reality take on a greater fiduciary liability.
Unless and until we can break the momentum of intertwined conflicts-of-interest, the greatest legacy weâll leave our grandchildrenâs children may be an outstanding bill to pay for spiraling public employee retirement benefits.
Top Fiduciary Stories in 2009
The topsy-turvy 2009 provided some of the biggest fiduciary stories in years. Which do you think rates as the most important?