What Are Your Questions Regarding the New 401(k) Advice Proposal?
Since the DoL’s new 401(k) advice regulations were submitted on February 26th, what are your biggest questions? The most commonly discussed questions have included the following:
- If the statute on how to evaluate mutual funds stands, clearly favoring index funds, how will this change the 401(k) landscape?
- Due to the conflict-free nature of the regs, will advice be limited, or will it open the door for plan providers to move forward with a game plan now that the rules have been defined?
- Will computer model advice be offered by broker dealers, or will they simply partner with an independent third party solution that potentially delivers more value in the eyes of participants?
We welcome your thoughts and ideas in the comments section below.
Good post. Thanks for linking to your blog. Will the final regs clearly favor index funds, or will the regs emphasize lower fees? Index funds may stand out when fees are emphasized, even if the regs do not appear to favor them.
Fees appear easy to analyze, but it isn’t that simple on a plan level. Will there be guidelines for ‘value’? Meaning, what should be offered by a provider at a particular fee level? If we enter a race to lower fees, I’m not sure the participant will win in the end.