Whether you agree or disagree with the CEO of Chick-Fil-A, who doesn't love a good media circus? So let's start one.
Ninety percent of all sushi eaten in the U.S. comes from a company called "True World Foods." This is a massive holding company that was set up by Sun Myung Moon as a means of popularizing the cuisine in the 1970s. Money spent by Americans on sushi ultimately feeds back to Moon's Unification Church, which counts among its many causes (such as supporting Nixon during Watergate) the exclusion of same-sex couples and AIDS sufferers from its blessing ceremonies.
I bet you didn't know that by eating sushi you're basically funding an organization that supports the same positions on same-sex marriage as Chick-Fil-A's CEO. No matter where you fall on a particular issue, it's pretty much impossible to spend your money somewhere that agrees with everything you believe in. Heck, the owner of my favorite bagel shop likes the Steelers.
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But enough about that… how does Chick-Fil-A's 401(k) stack up?
With an average rate of return of 14.21 percent on its most recent filing, CFA's investments only slightly underperformed the S&P for the same time period, making it a pretty average plan. The employer made a hefty contribution to the 401(k): over $4 million compared to the participants' contributions of $5.7 million, with total contributions per participant hitting $6,435. That's really good, but keep in mind that, even with CFA's unique franchise model (they retain ownership of each restaurant), these are likely more corporate participants than fry cooks. Their participation rate (69%) could be higher, but I'd imagine a number of employees are indulging in the good old fashioned defined benefit plan they offer.
One thing that's interesting is that many of the employees of the accounting firm that audited the plan (Babush, Neiman, Kornman, and Johnson) have political views strongly contrary to Chick-Fil-A's, at least according to Facebook. So even Chick-Fil-A isn't voting with their dollars – at least when it comes to IQPAs.
Man, now I really want waffle fries.
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