On July 1 – when fee disclosure regulations go into effect – there may be questions about advisers trying to reduce their fees. They should keep in mind that in some cases a plan sponsor’s ERISA counsel may perceive that action as an admission of guilt that previous fees may have been excessive or unreasonable.
Rick Unser, ERISA risk management consultant for Lockton, says although a majority of advisers are very knowledgeable in one capacity or another, they may not have a tremendous amount of expertise in the 401(k) space even though they have acquired plans over the years. “Fee disclosures will open up a lot of people’s eyes in terms of what advisers have been earning and there’s going to be a lot of tough conversations around fees earned versus services provided,” he says.
