It’s always easy in my blog posts to cherry pick recent financial media articles that reinforcement the same opinions that I share with the author. I am guilty as charged here. Nevertheless, a recent article by Joe Venti and Andy Green at MarketWatch compel me to bring their content to the attention of my clients and readers.
The authors reference Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman John Clayton’s recent comments regarding the mission of his agency. His statements deserve the attention of every individual company 401(k) retirement plan participant in this country.
I sincerely hope that any future efforts by the SEC and the Department of Labor focus on Chairman Clayton’s guiding principles.
A fiduciary level of investment advice made available to all individual company 401(k) retirement plan participants should be at the core of any future rules and regulations.
For too long individual company 401(k) retirement plan participants have been held captive by retirement plan sponsors and retirement plan service providers.
Company 401(k) retirement plan individual accounts need to be opened up to experience fiduciary-level investment advisors who help lower annual investment costs and improve the growth and preservation retirement plan principal.
A much larger role should be played by fiduciary level investment advisors in the future of individual company 401(k) retirement plan accounts.
Individual company 401(k) retirement plan participants don’t need more high cost and poor performing mutual funds. They need a human relationship with a fiduciary investment advisor to help them better navigate their retirement future.
Ric Lager
Lager & Company, Inc.
