Obviously, many employees will not know that they should ask for this information, and thus they will never receive it. A similar problem exists with respect to disclosure of plan administrative expenses. The regulations only require disclosure to employees of transactional fees, but do not require disclosure of account maintenance fees. At those hearings, the mutual fund industry called for the adoption of regulations mandating disclosure to employees of all fees. But representatives of other industries opposed disclosure.
Participants deserve to know the fees and the impact the fees can have on returns.
I could not agree more. This risk is of great concern to the mutual fund industry, since we are major players in the defined contribution market. The second area that we must ensure works in the interest of mutual fund shareholders is bank holding company regulation. A series of laws, such as the Glass-Steagall Act and the Bank Holding Company Act, produced a system under which financial services were strictly segregated. Banks, securities firms, insurance companies, and commercial firms were prohibited from engaging in each other's activities.