Back then, at least, we knew who wore the white hats and who whore the black hats. Today, thanks to muddled and often conflicting regulations for multiple agencies, everyone is wearing fifty shades of gray.
Tag "fiduciary"
Overall, nearly 1 in 5 companies still have not adopted auto-enrollment. There are common reasons why companies would not include auto-enrollment in their plans.
This week is all about those wayward 401k features that are well beyond their expiration date. Careful, though. In the process, you’ll see what’s garbage to one is a work of art to another.
This week we’ll be focusing on those favorite features as judged by the retirement plan professionals we interviewed. Don’t be surprised if over the next few weeks you discover that one provider’s treasure is another provider’s trash.
The root of these broader fiduciary concerns lies within the domain of compliance. Everything derives from what the regulators require, what any DOL audit might look at, and what might pique the interest of class-action attorneys.
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?
“The ERISA plaintiffs’ bar has overlooked the potential value of the Restatement’s prudent investor rule and its application to litigation involving 401k plans.”
This dilemma isn’t new. Trust officers have had to face it for generations. It’s called a “split-interest” trust. Multiply this split interest problem by the number of beneficiaries in a typical retirement plan and you can see how this conflict grows more complex.
While this might ruffle the feathers of ESG activists, those responsible for the day-to-day work of picking stocks have the real-world experience to fully understand where Buffett is coming from.
The Biden Rule, like the Trump Rule, does not encourage or discourage the use of ESG criteria when selecting investments. This allows fiduciaries to either adopt ESG principles or ignore them.
