Monthly Archives: January 2011

401(k) Plan Provisions That are Bad Ideas

My latest article on JDSupra can be found here.

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Don’t be fooled by Retirement Plan Euphemisms

My favorite comedian was George Carlin and George had a great act on euphemisms and how toilet paper became bathroom tissue and how a used car became a pre-owned automobile. All George was saying that euphemisms can cloud meanings of … Continue reading

Posted in 401(k) Plans, Retirement Plans | 1 Comment

Be Wary Of Providers Bearing 401(k) Fiduciary Guarantees

Twice today I was asked by a TPA and a major mutual fund company/TPA about my view concerning some of the bundled providers touting fiduciary guarantees or fiduciary roles that they are serving.  Using the term fiduciary can be very … Continue reading

Posted in 401(k) Plans, Retirement Plans | 7 Comments

Self Directed Brokerage Accounts In 401(k) Plans: A Potential Headache

I am writing an article about what 401(k) plan provisions that I think are mistakes and coincidentally, I was asked by a financial advisor about self directed brokerage accounts within 401(k) plans. I used to joke that the only clients … Continue reading

Posted in 401(k) Plans, Retirement Plans | 9 Comments

Why Financial Advisors Should Be Concerned Over TPA Referrals

A friend of mine and I were talking about a financial advisor that we knew that had a tremendous and respectable book of 401(k) business and how he actually uses a payroll provider for the third party administrator (TPA) for … Continue reading

Posted in 401(k) Plans, Retirement Plans | 2 Comments

How an Employer Can Rev-Up Their 401(k) Plan At Low Or No Cost

My latest article on JDSupra can be found here.

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More Than 4 Ways To Tell If Your 401(k) Plan is Being Mismanaged

A good article appeared in AOL’s Wallet Pop website regarding four signs that your 401(k) plan is being managed. With a quote by Mike Alfred at Brightscope.com, the articles listed the plan charges high annual fees; the plan has major … Continue reading

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Interview on AdvisorOne.com

My interview on Advisorone.com about developments in retirement plan law, especially Target Date Funds can be found here.

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The Uselessness Of Fee Disclosure

This past week, I received my 2010 end of year statement for my Vanguard rollover IRA and there was a nice surprise, they automatically switched my index mutual fund shares from their retail class to their institutional class, which has … Continue reading

Posted in 401(k) Plans, Retirement Plans | 3 Comments

The Value of A Good ERISA Fiduciary

My latest article in what I call the “Value Series” can be found here.

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