Irwin Stein

The exit of CalPERS' turnaround CEO Anne Stausboll raises the question of whether the pension Goliath's changes are too little, too late and mostly superficial

Edward Siedle: Overstaffing, underfunding, a lack of transparency and too much politics [are unacceptable].

CalPERS

Index Fund Advisors

Anne Stausboll

JJ Jelincic

Edward Siedle

James Hawley

Mark Hebner

Ted Eliopoulos

Robert Klausner

Joe Nation

Richard Koppes

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

Stausboll made a big showing of cutting hedge funds and other active managers but her last big act was to pay up for a New York office tower, funded by the sale of a diversified real estate portfolio

The exit of CalPERS' turnaround CEO Anne Stausboll raises the question of whether the pension Goliath's changes are too little, too late and mostly superficial

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