Fiduciary Advice & Education Blog
New 401(k) Advice Proposal Available for Comments Until May 5th
As promised, the new 401(k) advice proposal has been delivered before the end of the month. While I admit to not having read it in its entirety, the following has been reported by the Wall Street Journal:
Read MoreA Model for 401(k) Advice, Pt. 1 – Must be Conflict-Free
Many 401(k) sponsors, providers and advisors eagerly await the DoL’s new advice proposal, which is due to be released within the next 30-45 days. In an effort to put in our two cents, we thought we would share our hopes for the proposal based on our experience in delivering advice, our understanding of other options in the marketplace, and the feedback we have received from employers and investors alike. Keep in mind most of our clients exist in the top end of the small market (250+ employees) to large sized employers (1,000+ employees).
Goal #1 – Advice Must be 100% Conflict-Free
We believe advice for 401(k) investors must be start with being conflict-free. If there are conflicts in providing participants advice, then 401(k) advice is doomed to fail. So, let’s look at how to ensure this holds true for participants and the employers that are required to do their due diligence on service providers, including advice providers.
New 401(k) Advice Rules Set By End of February
The Department of Labor has declared their hopes for releasing the provisions for 401(k) advice by the end of February. Fair warning: The PPA was passed 4 1/2 years ago, and they still have not finalized said provisions. However, after the DoL was a bit embarrassed by the industry backlash by the legal, consumer protection and fiduciary experts, I actually feel optimistic they will get it right this time. In reading Phyllis Borzi’s comments below, we are hopeful the provisions will look something like this:
Read MoreAnother Study Shows 401(k) Advice/Help Improves Participant Outcomes
A recent study by Hewitt and Financial Engines found that people getting “help” outperformed those that did not by about 2%, after analyzing the performance of roughly 400,000 investors across seven retirement plans. The findings compliment the study by Charles Schwab in Nov. ’07, which found those that got help outperformed those that did not by nearly 3%. The studies compliment each other by the fact that each were conducted during different market cycles, the Schwab study during a bull market, the Hewitt study during a bear market. Thus, regardless of the market’s direction, studies show proper portfolio management superceded normal investment behavior (chasing performance, emotion based investing, etc.).
Read MoreMore Plan Sponsors Crossing the Line from Education to Advice – CFO.com
Since 401(k) plans were created, education was seen as a way of “moving the needle” to help participants make better investment decisions and improve plan participation. Does education help make investors investment managers?
Read MoreAmway Demonstrates Employee Focus via 401(k) Advice and Financial Counseling
Late last year, Amway concluded a three year nationwide due diligence campaign for fiduciary 401(k) advice and hired BeManaged, powered by local firm Actium LLC, which provide professional ongoing account management and investment advice through Amway’s existing 401(k) plan, administered by Fidelity Investments. Over 1,000 Amway employees took advantage of BeManaged’s free 1on1 consultations provided over a 90 day period, which helped them understand what kind of investor they were, and then comparing that with how they were actually invested, and then allowed them to decide if they wanted to utilize BeManaged’s management or advice services.
Read MoreW MI Fiduciary Forum Ruffles Feathers of Local Brokers
Last October, we organized the West MI Fiduciary Forum, a follow up to the ’07 Fiduciary Roundtable, a highly successful fiduciary education event that over 70 professionals attended, including 401(k) and 403(b) plan sponsors, investment providers, TPA’s, brokers and advisors. While the name Fiduciary Roundtable has been changed to Fiduciary Forum (Fiduciary RoundTable has been trademarked), the purpose of the event did not.
Read MoreREGULATION: New deadline granted for advice bill
After throwing the early ’09 DoL proposal in the trash, which would have allowed for conflicted advice to be delivered to 401k investors, there is some urgency in getting this done. Fast. And right.
Read MoreWhen is accepting a gift a problem for fiduciaries?
Christmas is upon us, and with that, showing our gratitude to our clients, as well as potentially advisors like us from providers and TPA’s can create potential conflicts of interest. Again, the esoteric term “reasonable” comes into play when determining the cost and scope of a gift.
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