If you pulled a Rip Van Winkle and spent the past year in a deep sleep (or, at least, the Catskills), you may missed several major stories that tell you a lot about our industry, both its immediate past and its immediate future.

Here's the rundown of just three of the most-read stories in FiduciaryNews.com in 2012. They're not the top three, but they are representative. (I'll provide you links to the complete lists throughout this article.) 

"New Study Reveals Three 401(k) Strategies More Important than Asset Allocation" (August 14, 2012) We found out about this study almost before it was officially released and we pounced on the story. That it fell outside the Top 10 most-read stories was probably due to its mid-summer publication date. Other media outlets choose to run the story after Labor Day, when readership numbers increase. Still, the result of this research led to a surprising conclusion: You can make up for sub-optimal investments in your 401(k) plan merely by working an extra four months. Read about the other "honorable mention" stories in "Most Widely Read FiduciaryNews.com Stories in 2012 – Honorable Mention.