Everyone wanted to set them up. They became a corporate must-have all of a sudden. But it wasn't long before the plan came under attack. But popular support proved too strong. The plan, which typically offered three investment choices in the early years, now on average offers 10 options.
More choice is the future, some say.
He is a consultant with newly formed Persumma Financial, an Internet-based financial services firm that's developing a plan to give sophisticated participants almost as much choice as they would have in an outside brokerage account. They've benefited from a bull market and grown accustomed to low inflation.