How would you feel if your home security system failed, the backup battery failed, and no one called the police or the fire department as your home burned to the ground?
You would be upset. When you calmed down, the first call would be to your homeowner’s insurance company.
At some point, a similar event could take place in your company 401(k). In the early stages of the next great stock market decline, who would you call?
I can tell you that the 20-something at the 800 number for your company 401(k) retirement plan provider will not be of much help. “It is always a good day to buy-and-hold stocks” according to your company 401(k) retirement plan provider. Schwab, Fidelity, Vanguard, etc., are not in the company 401(k) retirement plan principal preservation business.
I am responsible for protecting the company 401(k) retirement plan account principal for my individual company 401(k) retirement plan participant investment advice clients. I have a fiduciary investment advice obligation to limit losses to a predetermined dollar amount. That obligation allows my clients to sleep better at night.
An independent, third-party registered investment advisor can act as a state of the art company 401(k) retirement plan account security system.
You have a smoke detector, a radon detector, a carbon monoxide detector, a motion detector, and interior and exterior cameras for your second largest investment; your home. It is connected 24-hours-a-day to your local the police and fire departments.
The same piece of mind is available on your largest stock and bond market investment; your individual company 401(k) retirement plan account.
Ric Lager
Lager & Company, Inc.
