Is Your 401(k) Investment Menu Still Diversified Enough for an Unstable Market?
Volatile markets often prompt a broad question from business owners: Is our 401(k) investment menu still appropriately diversified?
Target-Date Funds 101: What Business Owners Should Know About Their Plan's Default Option
For many 401(k) plans, target-date funds are central to the default investment discussion. They are often organized around an expected retirement year and may be used individually or as part of a QDIA. For a business owner, the key is not to evaluate a target-date series based on a recent market result alone. It is to understand how the series works and how the committee oversees it within the plan.
Distinguishing Market Noise From Genuine Plan Problems: A Framework for Business Owners
When markets are volatile, every alert, chart, and employee question can appear to demand a plan-level response.
How Often Should Your Investment Committee Actually Meet?
At mid-year, many business owners can see the difference between the committee calendar they intended to keep and the calendar that happened.
Documenting Your Process: Why What You Did Matters as Much as What Happened
Good retirement-plan governance involves more than reaching a decision. It also involves showing how the committee reached it.
Tech carries the tape: AI-fueled rally lifts stocks despite rate overhang
Wall Street finished higher with the Nasdaq out front, the S&P 500 solidly green and the Dow positive, as a powerful post‑earnings surge in mega‑cap tech set the tone.
Staying the Course: What a Fiduciary Process Looks Like When Markets Get Choppy
Market volatility can make a retirement plan feel urgent even when no feature of the plan has changed. For a business owner or plan sponsor, the pressure may come through employee questions, unsettling headlines, and reports that look very different from the prior quarter.
Building a Simple Annual "Plan Checkup" Calendar So Retirement Oversight Doesn't Get Lost
For many business owners, managing a retirement plan can seem like trying to hit a shifting target.
Planning for Year-End: Deadlines, Extensions, and Common Filing Pitfalls to Avoid
As another year nears its conclusion, many business owners are focused on sales goals, budgeting, hiring decisions, and preparations for the year ahead
Reviewing Your 401(k) Investment Menu: Is It Clear, Diversified, and Appropriate for Your Workforce?
For many employers, the middle of the year is an ideal time to evaluate the health of their 401(k) plan. While much attention is often given to participation rates, matching contributions, and compliance requirements, one area deserves equal consideration: the investment menu.
Eligibility, Entry Dates, and Compensation Definitions: A Mid Year Check for Business Owners
For business owners sponsoring a 401(k) plan, three core concepts shape how the plan works every day: who is eligible, when employees enter the plan, and what counts as compensation for contributions and testing.
Checking Contribution Timing: Are Employee Deferrals Being Deposited Promptly?
When employees choose to defer part of their pay into your 401(k) plan, they’re trusting that those dollars move from payroll into the plan quickly and consistently.