If a tree falls in the forest, does anyone hear it? If a fee stays hidden from a 401(k) plan sponsor, does it matter? In the past, it may not have. Today, as Fred Reish comments, it may (see "DOL Smacks 401k Adviser for 12b-1 Fiduciary Breach. Plan Sponsors Next?" FiduciaryNews.com, March 26, 2013).
This may surprise many 401(k) plan sponsors – and may further open the doors to litigation against 401(k) service providers. We'll have to wait for the next major downturn in the markets to find out for sure. Between now and then, what can diligent plan sponsors do to better protect themselves?
There are a lot of folks purporting to offer advice in this area. Some of it is good. Some of it is self-serving. Some see "low" fees as the only path (until, unfortunately, they discover you only get what you pay for, and find themselves in yet another fiduciary morass).
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