Excerpt: According to the DOL, an estimated 72 million participants are covered by these participant-directed plans, which hold nearly $3 trillion in assets. The regulations are intended to ensure that these participants have sufficient information about plan investment fees and expenses to make informed retirement savings choices. To that end, plan sponsors must disclose fee and expense information for designated investment alternatives on a regular basis in a format that yields meaningful comparisons. A 'designated investment alternative' is any investment option offered by the plan.