The road less taken: Making the case for hiring a professional fiduciary

In the October/November issue of Morningstar Advisor, W. Scott Simon, an accredited investment fiduciary analyst, argued that "ERISA was designed originally with the overarching thought that qualified retirement plans such as a 401(k) plan were to be run by professional fiduciaries, not by plan sponsor executives with little (or no) experience (much less time or interest) in running a plan. The many sections of ERISA that grant fiduciary delegating authority attest to this." One final observation: The nonprofessional fiduciary service provider your company is probably using - while excellent at providing you with retirement tools, products and information that assists in managing your 401(k) - isn't shouldering any of your company's fiduciary responsibilities. You're paying for all this assistance by exposing your company to possible losses following litigation over an ERISA rule violation. Some nonprofessional fiduciaries' service providers claim to be co-fiduciaries. Nothing in ERISA mentions co-fiduciaries.