"I've been asked more times than I can count how I'd fix
the (retirement) system; now all I have to do is to endorse the
American Freedom 401 Plan."
William Bernstein,
Editor of Efficient Frontier,
an on-line journal of practical asset allocation, www.efficientfrontier.com
"We need to monitor and curb this excessive trading,"
prevalent among the more educated and affluent participants. "It
does nothing for one's own personal rate of return and indeed this
rapid trading causes real cost to portfolios that are borne not
just by those who trade, but by all who invest for the long-term."
Gerard Mullane,
a principal at the Vanguard Group, "10 Challenges That Will
Face 401(K) Sponsors in the Next Decade", International Foundation
of Employee Benefit Plans Daily News
"
sponsors
should evaluate whether Internet-based transactions and voice-response
systems are really necessary
Plan sponsors may save significantly
by eliminating these standard-but optional-perks. A lot of money is
being used to market and sell, and a lot of the money is being used
to create services I don't hear people asking for
"
Charlotte
Garvey, freelance writer based in Washington, D.C., "Is Your
401(k) Squeezed By Costs?"
The Society for Human Resource Management,
"There has to be an aggressive push for managed options as
a default for people who don't know a stock from a bond, and don't
want to know."
Robert Markman,
president of Markman Capital Management, Minneapolis, Kiplinger's
Personal Finance, "Performance Gap for 401(k) Investors"
March 1999
"
providers, are trying to create a product to sell."
Dallas Salisbury,
president, Employee Benefits Research Institute, Washington, Financial
Planning, The Future of the 401(k), July 2000 (referring to the
demand for "do-it-yourself" 401(k) plans, which he says
are demanded by a "noisy minority")
"
economists Brad Barber and Terrance Odean at the
University of
California at Davis looked into the stock-trading behavior and investment
performance of more than 1,600 investors who switched from phone-based
to online trading from 1992 to 1995. Big mistake. Individuals who
made the switch traded more actively and more speculatively than
before, and their returns went from beating the market by an average
of 2% to trailing it by more than 3% annually."
Christopher
Farrell, BusinessWeek online,
OCTOBER 6, 2000
"Currently, participants spend very little time doing research
on their own no matter what amount of education the plan sponsor
provides."
J. Michael
Scarborough, president and CEO,
The Scarborough Group Inc., Annapolis, Md., CFO.com,
, March 06, 2001
"Nobody thinks about fiduciary liability when the stock
market is roaring. But when it whimpers, employees and retirees
look to blame someone, and the plaintiff's bar will see this as
the next big payday."
John Eskew,
CFO, Windermere Real Estate Services Co., Seattle, CFO Magazine,
"Defending your 401(k)" April 2000
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