401k Partners Archives - 401k Plan Optimization, Compliance, Investment & Partners

Not All Adviser Conflicts Are Equal, But None Should Be Ignored

By Fred Barstein / 401(k) Plan Management, 401k Advisor, Benchmarking & Monitoring Fees & Partners, Benchmarking Fees, Convergence & Advisor M&A, Documents & testing, erisa, Financial Advisors, Financial Wellness, Investments, IRA Roll overs and Roll ins, Managed Accounts, One-on-on consulting, Participant data

The financial services industry has largely normalized compensation arrangements that create conflicts of interest. Other professional fields—tax and legal—figured this out long ago and largely...

Why Today’s Fintech Record Keepers Are Succeeding Where Others Failed

By Fred Barstein / 401(k) Plan Management, 401k Trends, Adaptability, AI, AI for Retirement, Benchmarking & Fees (ERISA, retirement plan), Change, Communication, DC plans, Employee Benefits, evolving and adapting, Financial Wellness, Fintech Record Keepers, Recordkeeping, Regs and Regulators, Retirement Plan Participation

Fintech record keepers are gaining serious momentum in the retirement plan industry, raising billions in capital and serving a growing share of defined contribution plans. ...

Why Advisors and Record Keepers Need to Stop Competing — and Start Collaborating

By Fred Barstein / 401(k) Managed Accounts, 401(k) Plan Management, Advisors and Record Keepers Collaborating, collaboration, Communication, Communication, DC plans, Fiduciary, Financial Advisors, Merging Retirement Plan, Plan design, Recordkeeping, Retirement Committee, Retirement Readiness

Participants in defined contribution plans have more tools than ever — and many still don’t know if they’re on track. That gap isn’t a technology...

The Future of 401(k) Recordkeeping: Challenges, Opportunities, and What’s Next

By Fred Barstein / 401(k) advisor trust, 401(k) Plan Management, 401k plan, AI for Retirement, Change, Communication, Compliance, DC plans, Fiduciary, Financial Advisors, Financial Wellness, Investments, Participant data, Record Keepers, Regs and Regulators, Retirement Income, SECURE 2.0, SECURE Act, Secure Act Changes

The retirement plan industry finds itself at an interesting crossroads. While recordkeepers continue to face pressure from declining fees, they are also being asked to...

Six Plan Governance Blind Spots and How to Fix Them

By Fred Barstein / 401(k) Plan Management, 401k plan, 401k Trends, Adaptability, Audit, Benchmarking & Fees (ERISA, retirement plan), Benchmarking Fees, benefits committee, Compliance, Cyber Security, DC Plan Sponsors, erisa, ERISA Advisory Council, fee lawsuits, Fiduciary, Fiduciary Liability, Financial Advisors, investment, Legislation, participation, Plan governance

Running a retirement plan involves a lot of moving pieces—service providers, investment options, fees, compliance requirements—and it’s easy for fiduciaries to get so deep into...

401(k) Fees Are Falling—But Are You Overpaying?

By Fred Barstein / 401k Advisor, Benchmarking & Fees (ERISA, retirement plan), Benchmarking & Monitoring Fees & Partners, benefit education, Changing dynamics, Changing Recordkeepers, Communication, DC Plan Sponsors, DC plans, education, erisa, Fiduciary, financial literacy

As 401(k) plans grow and add participants, fees are often left unchanged for years—despite ongoing fee compression across the industry driven by increased competition and...

401(k) Fees Fall, But Gaps and Questions Remain

By Fred Barstein / 401(k) Plan Management, Benchmarking & Fees (ERISA, retirement plan), Benchmarking & Monitoring Fees & Partners, Benchmarking Fees, Benchmarking Funds, DC Plan Sponsors, Economy, erisa, fee compression, fee lawsuits, fees, Financial Wellness, Financial Wellness, Investments

401(k) fees continue to trend downward across the industry, driven by increased competition, wider use of low-cost investment options, and institutional pricing. Investment-related costs have...

Fee Compression Continues, Small Plans Still Pay More

By Fred Barstein / 401(k) Managed Accounts, Benchmarking & Monitoring Fees & Partners, Changing dynamics, DC plans, Economy, ERISA Co-Fiduciaries, fee compression, fee lawsuits, fees, Fiduciary, Financial Wellness, investment policy statement, Investments, Mutual Fund Fees, Retirement Plan Advisor, Retirement Plan Fees, Retirement Plan Fiduciary

Investment fees are still falling across all plan sizes, but smaller plans continue to pay significantly more than their larger counterparts—and cost variation across providers...

Could a Centralized Clearinghouse Fix 401(k) System Challenges?

By Fred Barstein / 401(k) Plan Management, 401k Advisor, Auto Portability, auto re-enroll, Compensation, DC Plan Sponsors, DC plans, Employee Benefits, Employee engagement, Fiduciary, Fiduciary, Financial Advisors, Financial Wellness, Financial Wellness, Investments, participation, Retirement Plan Advisor, Retirement planning

Defined contribution plans have come a long way, but the system still struggles with one big reality: people change jobs frequently. Over the course of...

The Illusion of 401(k)s — And What Comes Next

By Fred Barstein / 401k plan, AI, Artificial Intelligence, Authenticity, Benchmarking & Fees (ERISA, retirement plan), Financial Wellness, Improving Outcomes, Participant data, personal financial advice, Plan design, Professional Retirement Plan Fiduciary Services, Recordkeeping, Target Date Fund, Target Date Funds

Defined contribution plans like 401(k)s and 403(b)s may appear to be fixed retirement vehicles, but in reality they are constantly shifting collections of individual accounts. ...

Why Today’s Fintech Record Keepers Are Succeeding Where Others Failed

Why Advisors and Record Keepers Need to Stop Competing — and Start Collaborating

The Future of 401(k) Recordkeeping: Challenges, Opportunities, and What’s Next

401(k) Fees Are Falling—But Are You Overpaying?

Fee Compression Continues, Small Plans Still Pay More

Could a Centralized Clearinghouse Fix 401(k) System Challenges?

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