Not to paint an overly pessimistic image or anything – well, with less than two weeks left in the election cycle, that's a tall order indeed, especially when it comes to the worries the retirement industry has about the fate of this year's big decision.

I got an apt overview of the best-case/worst-case scenarios facing the 401(k) business from Jim Cavanaugh, assistant director of federal government regulations for the Principal Financial Group – one of the speakers at this week's Center for Due Diligence conference in Chicago.

Cavanaugh – and many like-minded people representing the retirement business – are doing their best to figure out what changes may be around the corner, post-election. He admits that the news is not great, either way, though something absolutely has to happen to help offset some of the financial issues dogging the whole financial industry.