September 9, 2010
Dear sir or madam,
401k plans serve the brokerages and employers much more than the employees because of high expense ratios and stock turnover costs incurred by the employees/clients.The free administration and kickbacks from brokerage firms for selling their products should be outlawed with real fines (not the fake, little fines in place)implemented. Employers should be held to feduciary duties to their employees.Low cost "INDEX" funds for "TOTAL" markets for stocks, international stocks and bonds should be required to be offered to employees, by law. Some of these can be TOTAL stock market index funds VTSMX, FSTMX, PEXMX. TOTAL international index funds PIEQX, FSIIX, VGTSX.TOTAL bond index funds VBMFX, FBIDX, PBDIX. "House" funds of brokerages should not be included because they include unnecessary costs. TOTAL INDEX funds are safer than stock picking funds because they are diversified across the total market and they are low cost. It is proven that stock picking funds do not perform better than lower costing index funds. Stock picking funds just make money for the brokerages that have convinced people with false media, that they know something special. No additional expenses should be allowed to be attached to these index funds by anyone who could profit from this. The arbitration system and the legal system concerning stocks and bonds should not protect the businesses, but should protect the consumers who have been exploited by these businesses.Individuals (management) and business entities should be accountable, with criminal laws which should be enforced against them. Stop making laws FOR them and looking the other way when criminals are profiting. Thank you for making these changes.