Not only do you need to watch the place that holds all the money, you need to watch the pipeline that feeds the money there.
Tag "target date fund"
It might suit 401k plan sponsors and fiduciaries to tell this story of the generations to help the next generation avoid the mistakes of past generations. This tale provides many good tips about the dangers of investing in extremes, be they too conservative or too aggressive.
There might be a there, there. It could be that TDFs have an Achilles’ Heel that leaves them vulnerable.
Nobody’s perfect. It’s unfair to expect recordkeepers to be. Everyone makes mistakes—even recordkeepers. The problem is what happens when a mistake occurs.
The conflicts-of-interest inherent in selecting proprietary funds are apparent. Less so are the criteria used to determine what a suitable process might be.
But that idea contained a flaw. In the early years, limited choices made it easy for employees. The proliferation of the number of options in later years, however, exposed the lack of sophistication within the employee cohort. That can lead to bad decision-making. Alternative solutions were needed.
It’s not just plan sponsors and plan participants that need convincing. The entire retirement plan infrastructure must also get on board. That doesn’t mean the hurdles can’t be overcome.
Why are there two kinds of Target Date Funds and why does that doom this particular group of people saving for retirement in their company’s 401k plan?
Familiarity may breed contempt, but it also makes you sloppy. Do you know plan sponsors that have forgotten they need to address these matters?
It’s fun to talk about “risk” and “return” because these are measurables and people are comfortable with the tangible world. But none of that touches upon what really matters. Worse, it can distract you from achieving what you want most.
