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45 Matching News Items

1.  Fiduciary Plan Governance, LLC Comment Letter to DOL on Proposed Fee Disclosure Guide (PDF)
Fiduciary Plan Governance, LLC Link to more items from this source
June 22, 2014
"We think the best approach is to put the burden on the service provider to make the determination of whether it is subject to the guide requirement under consideration of the following factors: [1] Is the disclosure drafted in a manner understandable to the average person, and assuming the recipient has no knowledge or understanding of financial industry fee structures? [2] Is the disclosure only as long as is necessary to convey the required information consistent with the first factor? If the service provider cannot answer both questions in the affirmative, they would be subject to the guide requirement."
2.  Fiduciary Responsibilities: An Overview for Retirement Plan Sponsors
Fiduciary Plan Governance, LLC Link to more items from this source
May 26, 2016
"As a plan sponsor, you should regularly receive fee disclosures that include the following information: [1] A description of the services provided; [2] The status of the service provider as an ERISA fiduciary; [3] A clear statement of compensation and fees; [4] Termination charges, if any. They should become part of your permanent due diligence file after you've reviewed them to make sure they're complete and accurate. If you aren't getting them, ask. It's up to you to make sure you have the information you need."
3.  Fiduciary Responsibility in Healthcare Plans
Fiduciary Plan Governance, LLC Link to more items from this source
May 3, 2018
"An employer's management of the payment part is what raises fiduciary issues under ERISA. We know plan sponsors have fiduciary responsibilities for ERISA retirement plans like 401(k)s and 403(b)s but what's not as well understood is that, speaking very broadly, employers offering healthcare plans are obligated to act reasonably and prudently, to engage only necessary services, and not enter into unreasonable arrangements or pay unreasonable fees."
4.  Is Using Active Investment Management a Fiduciary Breach? Part 6
Fiduciary Plan Governance, LLC Link to more items from this source
Aug. 25, 2016
"Is it prudent ... to include in fund lineups selections from a group that as a whole and even in highly select sub-groups consistently fails to deliver returns greater than low cost index tracking funds? Isn't the prudent choice to simply index everything at the lowest possible cost and be done, at least when it comes to 401(k), 403(b) and any other fiduciary plan fund lineup? ... Since, under ERISA, prudence is a process, begin by asking if the added cost of the active approach you are considering is justified given the low probability of achieving additional return."
5.  Is Using Active Investment Management a Fiduciary Breach?
Fiduciary Plan Governance, LLC Link to more items from this source
July 21, 2016
"The question ... for investment fiduciaries who typically delegate investment management to third-parties like mutual funds and professional investment managers may not be, 'Is using active management a fiduciary breach?' but 'Is there a way to select the right ones?' The answer may be both simpler and more difficult than most of us, including investment advisors and others who make their livings purporting to do so, imagine."
6.  Will the DOL Fiduciary Rule Level the Playing Field for Brokers?
Fiduciary Plan Governance, LLC Link to more items from this source
Nov. 11, 2014
"Regardless of the standard that applies to them, in the eyes of their clients, brokers are offering investment advice. And the plan sponsor is acting on that advice. This the typical broker does without any processes or procedures that are protective of his client's (or even his own) interests.... The reproposal and finalization of the DOL's fiduciary definition rule (now expected in early 2015) will likely change things for brokers."
7.  Is Using Active Investment Management a Fiduciary Breach? Part 5
Fiduciary Plan Governance, LLC Link to more items from this source
Aug. 18, 2016
"It seems that although over longer periods a small number of active managers have outperformed their benchmarks, there are not clear markers for identifying them. It also seems there may not be a clear way of evaluating whether an underperforming manager is unskilled (and, therefore, not fit to manage your money) or skilled but going through an 'out of favor' period."
8.  Is Using Active Investment Management a Fiduciary Breach? Part 3
Fiduciary Plan Governance, LLC Link to more items from this source
Aug. 4, 2016
"[This article examines the claim that] funds with a high level of manager ownership ... is an indicator of likely superior -- index-beating -- return capabilities.... [The authors found that] 53% of funds with at least $500,000 of manager conviction invested in their funds failed to earn a grade of D- against the S&P 500 over 11 periods covering 20-to-30 years of comparative performance.... [Not] a clear signpost for anyone seeking to reduce the chances of selecting managers who underperform."
9.  Is Using Active Investment Management a Fiduciary Breach? Part 2
Fiduciary Plan Governance, LLC Link to more items from this source
July 28, 2016
"Despite a strongly held (and, at times, vigorously asserted) belief among investors -- as well as most of the financial services industry -- despite its disclaimer -- that past excess returns do imply a likelihood of a repeat in the future, our research and experience indicates the opposite: The most appropriate method of selecting active investment managers is defensive. That is, a risk minimization approach."
10.  Transparency in Defined Benefit Plan Investing
Fiduciary Plan Governance, LLC Link to more items from this source
Aug. 11, 2014
"[L]ack of information impairs a plan's fiduciary's ability to protect the interests of the plan and exposes the plan fiduciary to personal liability. This applies from the initial analysis in the decision to invest through the period the plan holds the investment.... Rejection of investments based on transparency concerns is becoming quite common. Many institutional investors now realize they have the 'power of the purse' and will walk way from an investment if reasonable terms cannot be negotiated."
11.  401(k) Fiduciaries: Is It Time to Hone Your Processes?
Fiduciary Plan Governance, LLC Link to more items from this source
Mar. 15, 2018
"Establish and run processes that demonstrate they have leveraged the lowest cost fees based on their plan size and servicing needs. If the fees their plan pays exceed market norms, they need to be able to show why the fees are reasonable.... Articulate why one investment was chosen over the other. Dig down deeper in understanding whether actual fund plan investments align with investment objectives."
12.  401(k) Fiduciaries: Is it Time to Hone Your Processes? (Part Two)
Fiduciary Plan Governance, LLC Link to more items from this source
May 9, 2017
"Advisors can help [plan fiduciaries] [1] Establish and run processes that demonstrate they have leveraged the lowest cost fees based on their plan size and servicing needs.... [2] Be market aware and have a basic understanding of industry fees and practices. [3] Articulate why one investment was chosen over the other. [4] Dig down deeper in understanding whether actual fund plan investments align with investment objectives."
13.  401(k) Fiduciaries: Is It Time to Hone Your Processes? Part One
Fiduciary Plan Governance, LLC Link to more items from this source
Apr. 25, 2017
"The litigation has widened and deepened the scope of the threat. Processes, as good as they have been in the past, may not be good enough now. Something more may be required that requires plan sponsors to look at a hard look at their existing practices and to improve them if necessary."
14.  The IRS Employee Plans Work Plan for 2018: A 'Compliance Checklist' for Plan Sponsors
Fiduciary Plan Governance, LLC Link to more items from this source
Oct. 19, 2017
"With the knowledge the Work Plan provides, plan sponsors and their service providers can work to ward off potential problems likely to draw the attention of the IRS.... These are means the IRS will be using to find problems and to ultimately pursue correction and impose taxes and penalties for noncompliance.... These are the ways the IRS has found to work smarter in 2018: Continuing IRS effort to make plan sponsors smarter & reduce non-compliance.... Making the Voluntary Compliance Program (VCP) more efficient.... Data driven approaches to plan examinations are being refined.... Reliance on referrals continues."
15.  DOL Focuses in on Plan Auditors -- and Their Clients
Fiduciary Plan Governance, LLC Link to more items from this source
Jan. 28, 2016
"DOL is making it clear that it is targeting certain types of audit firms and the plans they audit. Note that DOL's point is that the plan administrator (read 'plan sponsor' because that's almost always who it is) is the one who is responsible to ensure that the plan auditor is competent and that the audit, report and filings are accurate. In other words, if you are a plan sponsor you are the one on the hook if they aren't."
16.  What Should a Retirement Plan IPS Contain?
Fiduciary Plan Governance, LLC Link to more items from this source
Mar. 17, 2016
"In addition to the overall goals and objectives for the plan, your [investment policy statement (IPS)] should define your investment philosophy in at least general terms.... A clear chain of command and responsibility should to be established.... Your IPS should clearly describe how your investment strategy and plan are constructed.... Your IPS should describe the review standards you will use in sufficient detail that someone totally unfamiliar with you can understand how you approached the job.... Your IPS should lay out clear procedures for removal and reinvestment of plan options."
17.  What Fee is Reasonable for a Plan Audit?
Fiduciary Plan Governance, LLC Link to more items from this source
June 30, 2016
"By leaving cost out of the evaluation until the very end you will be able to make a sound determination whether, given all that you are seeing in the way of resources, services, experience and quality, any of the fee proposals are out-of-line. If any are, your next step should not be eliminating but questioning further."
18.  What Responsibilities Do Employers Retain After Outsourcing Plan Administration?
Fiduciary Plan Governance, LLC Link to more items from this source
Nov. 10, 2015
"[E]ven if you have properly outsourced these responsibilities, you still must: [1] Carefully monitor how your 'prudent experts' are performing their duties. You are still responsible for their actions being prudent. [2] Retain ultimate decision-making authority for hiring and firing.... It's up to you to make all final decisions. [3] Independently evaluate the suitability of their actions, expenses, and overall performance."
19.  Private Education 403(b) Plans: Unique Challenges and a Changing Landscape
Fiduciary Plan Governance, LLC Link to more items from this source
June 4, 2014
"[403(b) plans] typically stand alone as the only retirement benefit plan offered to private education employees, and are therefore expected to do the work of two plans.... [The IRS and DOL] are exercising their powerful authority over these plans and are taking clear aim at them.... [403(b) plans] teem with multiple mutual fund investments and vendors.... [T]here is still a higher expectation of on-site participant service availability for 403(b) plans than there is for its 401(k) plan counterpart.... Utilization of open investment platforms can solve [the foregoing] challenges[.]"
20.  Private Education 403(b) Plans, Part 3: Abandoning the Old Order
Fiduciary Plan Governance, LLC Link to more items from this source
June 10, 2014
"Private education institutions plans face unique challenges: [1] Their plans tend to have many more investment providers.... [2] Vendors to their plans often focus more on how their investments are better than other vendors to the detriment of promoting general education, participant investment success, and general plan effectiveness and efficiencies. [3] Private education institutions have historically relied on incumbent vendors, with little or no investment review. In other words, the institutions do not have an 'oversight' culture and investment process in place."
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