Guest Columnist Sheldon Geller

What next, an article by Ivan Boesky about the evils of insider trading? The allegations regarding Sheldon Geller (google Sheldon Geller) have never been fully addressed by Mr. Geller, especially how his father in law had an auditing practice, auditing Geller &amp; Wind retirement plan clients (the father in law was Wind) while Sheldon was listed as that auditing firm’s 401(k) plan trustee, as well as the successor CPA firm, where Sheldon again was the 401(k) plan trustee. Mr. Geller’s reputation in the 401(k) plan industry is abhorrent and it is a shame that RIABiz would try to help rehabilitate the image of a man who was well known to pocket revenue sharing and no disclose it to the clients. It’s people like Mr. Geller that required the DOL to implement fee disclosure.

What RIAs must know about hidden, and excessive, fees in serving as fiduciaries to a 401(k) plan

Sheldon Geller: Plan fiduciaries were deemed to have violated their duty of prudence by selecting mutual funds whose fees were based on the retail share class rather than the institutional share class.

Stone Hill

Sheldon Geller

The days when RIAs were the outsiders at the 401(k) party are fast coming to a close. What's new is that the mass of 401(k) assets 
is getting critical at about $3 trillion; fiduciary advisors are getting appreciated; fat fees and questionable kickbacks are getting exposed and stepping out of line is getting dicier as the Department of Labor tightens the regulatory screws.

The old reasons why the 401(k) business is attractive are still in place: there are fresh assets pouring in every month and when employees leave jobs or retire, they produce rollovers that build up IRA accounts for financial advisors. The drawbacks of getting into the 401(k) business are still in place, too. Dealing with retirement assets is really a second line of business and it remains -- unless you overcharge with hidden fees -- a low margin business with high potential fiduciary liabilities.

Still, the outsourcers, infrastructure and accumulated knowledge for RIAs to capitalize on is growing daily and a the mega-shift of assets away from brokers is making the 401(k) business riskier and riskier -- to ignore.

401(k) Stories

With lawsuits and enforcement actions mounting, and new rules in place, what DOL wants is not all that abstract or theoretical anymore

What RIAs must know about hidden, and excessive, fees in serving as fiduciaries to a 401(k) plan

Fred Nobel

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