Will pigs ever fly? Will pigs ever fly?

In 401(k) circles there is a saying; Educating employees on investing is like teaching pigs to fly; They will never fly, and get sick of being thrown off the roof.

Now before you think this is rude and elitist let me explain.

A one on one session explaining principles of asset allocation, market dynamics, efficient frontiers and time horizons leave most casual investors confused and bored. Try doing that in front of a group of distracted employees, with no experience in mutual funds. Add language barriers and distrust of banking services and you have an understanding of how flawed this process can be  by no fault of the employer or employee. The Dept of Labor (DOL) has struggled with this. Even the 401(k) provider powerhouses have not been able to properly convey these principles, no matter how many color-coded brochures they print and deliver.

As a result the DOL made changes to ERISA rules guiding how a plan should be run. Auto enrollment has become an option. Even with the best employee education and enrollment meetings, many well-intentioned employees never get through the paperwork to sign up. Ill tackle that next week, becomes a constant (and expensive) refrain. Then once they sign up many stop with choosing a money market for safety or lack of time to decipher the prospectus outlining each fund available in the plan. Sure, a money market is safe, but an investment that doesnt keep pace with inflation over a thirty of forty-year time frame is not an appropriate investment.

Investors want safety but there is a floor on how low return rates can be. Auto enrollment with Qualified Default Fund, think of a balanced fund, has become an option. You put in a plan for your employees, hold the enrollment meetings, hope they all enroll and choose appropriate investments.

Or: You put in a plan, hold the meeting, and announce everyone is enrolled for 3% of salary, will be matched dollar for dollar on that 3% and the money is going into a balanced fund; part stocks part bonds. Anyone who wants to change investment options, change amount deposited into the plan, or opt out is welcome to do so. Now with the same amount of work as before, employees can customize their portfolio, but no one is left out in the cold if they cannot marshal the time to do so.

Pigs dont need to fly when there is a nice soft landing for them.

Article courtesy of: Rob Thomas of Social(k)