Historically, public 403(b) plans have been serviced by vendor-representatives. Some of these people have been quite good; some have not been. While some have emphasized education, many have emphasized sales.
As a result, participants have often been sold unsuitable, high-fee products with onerous surrender charges that benefit the representative more than the participant. We know that while participants are quite capable of managing a 403(b) on their own, the 403(b) is just one piece of an individual’s overall financial picture. We also know that many investors appreciate and prefer the personal service offered by a qualified financial advisor.
As a counter to the sales representative model, we recommend that participants seek out advisors who subscribe to our philosophy of providing quality, objective advice. |