Nevin's Data "Points"

Ours is an industry of fairly recent invention–one that is, in many respects, only just beginning to emerge from the growth pangs of adolescence. Ours is an industry constantly and dramatically evolving–and one that all too often seems relentlessly driven to push us forward to the next challenge, through the next legislative overhaul, and onto the next wave of tumult in the markets, sometimes in the same six-month period. For plan sponsors, change is not only the order of the day, it is the day. That certainly has been true for the 15 years during which PLANSPONSOR has been published. But if the pace is relentlessly forward, there are nonetheless those among us who have a vision that stands out from the crush of the day, who provide a better way for the rest of us, either through thoughts or deeds, to succeed in helping bring about a more secure future for those who depend on us. As our 15th anniversary approached, we began thinking about those individuals--individuals who have mad...

When a co-worker forwarded to me an e-mail about Eliot Spitzer’s alleged tie with a prostitution ring last week, I thought it was a joke. It was no joke, of course—though, in incredibly short order, it became something of a circus (one can only hope that with Spitzer’s resignation, we’ll be spared the tiresome details about the personal life of the prostitute(s) whose services he engaged). Spitzer was touted as a crusader by some—but like the crusaders of old, his motives and actions surely weren’t always pure. And though he reportedly embraced the image of a sheriff, he more accurately brought to mind Henry Fonda’s gunslinger marshal Clay Blaisdell in “Warlock” who, hired to rid the town of terrorizing bandits, soon became an even more ominous threat to the peace and well-being of the citizenry. Spitzer made a lot of enemies during his career—IMHO, not so much because of what he did, but how he chose to do it. He was, of course, challenging large and powerful interests, but he freq...