The central role of the recordkeeper can create reverberations with other providers should the plan sponsor attempt to change recordkeepers. Any hiccup in the employees’ ability to manage their retirement assets can cause problems for plan sponsors.
Tag "fiduciary"
The relative quickness of this one-two shot from the District Courts suggests an obvious flaw in the new Rule.
It’s too easy for plan sponsors to get lost in the weeds when dealing with plan minutia. Yes, “the buck stops here” reality can overwhelm many. Delegation is the key. It’s also the Achilles Heel. This is where the magic word emerges.
This isn’t a compliance audit, it’s an operating efficiency audit. That covers plenty of ground, from technology to benchmarking the value offered by the service provider.
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.
If plan sponsors are working with the appropriate plan fiduciary, then an ongoing review of the fund’s performance, fees, and underlying risk should be part of their ongoing process
Herein lies the potential for a direct conflict of interest. This applies generally to all proxy voting in commingled portfolios.
Since actively managed funds have lagged index funds, does this case put their continued use in ERISA plans at risk?
On the face of it, American Airlines seemed to follow its documented process. So, what did the company do wrong?
These Classic Movies (Unknowingly?) Promote The Fiduciary Standard
It seems like each decade produces a major box office hit that exudes fiduciary. This whole “best interest” thing seems to have caught on in Tinseltown. More recent movies have added a good dose of the “honesty” part of fiduciary.