Our Money's Worth
Last week, the LA Times ran a three-part series on 401(k) fees. The headline, “Fees Eat Away at Employees' 401(k) Nest Eggs,” didn’t seem to be a harbinger of real news. I figured it was just another one of those moments of journalistic “awakening” to things those of us in this business are already well aware of. But as I skimmed the story, I realized that this was not just a story about outrageous 401(k) fees per se. While acknowledging that “Mutual fund management fees are the biggest expense,” the authors gave them a quick pass, noting that they are “prominently disclosed, have attracted wide publicity, and have been declining as fund providers compete for customers.” Well, they surely are the largest expense, they have been attracting publicity, and they surely are disclosed (“prominently” is another matter, IMHO). As for fees declining, well personally, I don’t see much evidence that most are, but that’s a point for another column. So, if those mutual fund fees that are t