Monthly Archives: December 2019

Cost is an overused consideration for picking plan providers, value and quality are underused. Target benefit plans are the Boo Berry Cereal of retirement plans. You know they exist, but you rarely see them. Target date funds, what’s the target? … Continue reading →

I’m not a fan of reporting legislation, but this piqued my interest. Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA), a member of the Senate Finance Committee, is working on a bill that would allow plan participants to withdraw funds from their 401(k), 403(b), … Continue reading →

Charles Schwab, the largest publicly traded discount brokerage firm and of the largest custodian of 401(k) plan assets has agreed to acquire TD Ameritrade for an all-stock transaction valued at $26 billion. The deal brings together two of the largest … Continue reading →

Amazon is a mover and shaker in e-commerce and they have a pretty large 401(k) plan now. As of the end of 2018, their 401(k) plan has almost $6 billion in assets. So when Amazon ditches Vanguard funds for Fidelity … Continue reading →

When it comes to your health, there are certain symptoms you should look out for that could be a harbinger of something wrong. The same can be said of your 401(k) plan. Here are some things to consider: Late deposit … Continue reading →

In the past 35 years, it changed on who had to take out a required minimum distribution (RMD) from a qualified retirement plan. Thankfully, it hasn’t changed since 1997. So a person who is a 5% owner has to take … Continue reading →

Studies previously showed that participation rates in a 401(k) plan are negatively impacted when there are more funds on a 401(k) fund lineup. However, a new study suggests that adding more funds is better. A report from Morningstar finds that … Continue reading →

As part of an analysis, Fidelity Investments compared average asset allocations of participants to an age-based Target Date Fund and they found that nearly a quarter (23%) of 401(k) savers still have a higher percentage of equities than recommended, including … Continue reading →

One of my favorite sayings is that you should never make yourself a target, but when you are a mutual fund company and you use your own proprietary funds as an investment option in your 401(k) plan, you are certainly … Continue reading →

My latest article for JDSupra.com can be found here.