Goal Lines
That report, published by Towers Watson (see “ Towers Watson Finds DB Plans Outperformed DC Plans ” at ), compared the differences in investment results between 401(k) plans and defined benefit (DB) plans—and, in a contest that you’d surely have trouble getting decent odds on in Vegas, defined benefit plans fared better. That shouldn’t—and probably didn’t—surprise anyone, IMHO. Defined benefit plans have a lot of things going for them that 401(k)s don’t. First, most DB plans have someone in an official capacity paying attention to them. They are obligations of the employer, after all, and they have a direct—and increasingly visible—impact on the bottom line. Second, in view of the first consideration, those responsible for that bottom line impact of the DB plan generally have the good sense to engage the services of experts to help them make the right decisions. Finally, and perhaps most importantly when it comes to making investment decisions, DB plans have the benefit of time—an...