The new Department of Labor (DOL) regulations on 401(k) fee and expense disclosure will have a profound impact on the trillion dollar retirement industry. But these big changes hinge on whether millions of 401(k) investors want to save their own money by getting better informed.
Now, a new book examines how these new regulations work, the conflicts of interest that exist between plan providers and investors, and what these regulations mean to 401(k) participants, employers, plan recordkeepers and the mutual fund and insurance companies which offer the investments.
What 401(k) investors will discover in this new book is that some employers and investment professionals work against the interests of investors and their own employees by charging high hidden fees and limiting investment choices to expensive products.
The book also explains:
–How revenue sharing and 12b-1 fees cost investors $9.5 billion annually;
–Why the financial industry opposes the adoption of the fiduciary standard and full disclosure;
–The real impact of wealth destruction in housing and in investment portfolios;
–Why ETFs are not included in many 401(k) plans;
–What’s wrong with target-date and multi-manager mutual funds;
–How to identify conflicts-of-interest in financial relationships;
–Why 401(k) participants pay about $164 million in fees daily to the financial services industry, often for services they never receive.
–How excessive 401(k) fees will re-shape relationships between employers and employees;
–The role of mutual fund wholesalers and how they work against the interests of shareholders;
–How the retirement industry defaulted from pensions to 401(k)s and why 401(k) are not designed to fulfill retirement expectations.
This is a long overdue and timely book that explains how the 401(k), some 401(k) plan sponsors, and mutual fund industry often work against the best interests of their own customers.
“This book makes the case for adopting the fiduciary standard and the need for effective regulation to protect investor interests,” according to author Chuck Epstein.
“But the book also stresses that investors must take their own retirement futures into their own hands by investigating their investments, fees and whether their employers and hired investment professionals are actually working for or against them.”
This timely book can save investors hundreds of thousands of dollars over their investing lifetimes. A must-read for anyone planning for retirement.
The book also presents significant marketing opportunities for investment professionals who have adopted the fiduciary standard (RIAs), as well as 401(k) plan sponsors and employers seeking to educate participants about the importance of fees, expenses and product selection for their specific company plan. For some employers, this is an excellent opportunity to demonstrate fee and expense control combined with participant education. Contact the author for more employee education and RIA marketing suggestions.
The book is available on Amazon and Kindle for $15.95. It is 287 pages, with six charts, a glossary, and 280 footnotes. ISBN 978-1477657997
Chuck Epstein cepstein@prodigy.net
