Creating an Investment Policy Statement seems to be an accepted best practice by most plan advisors. Are "Education Policy Statements" the next wave? Performance of DC plans could be improved more by people simply saving more and optimal plan design than by selecting better performing funds.
According to an interview by FiduciaryNews’ Chris Carosa with Sarah Simoneaux and Rick Rodgers at the ASPPA annual national conference this week, the focus of education should shift from investing to saving, with more money flowing into managed investments anyway.
Thornburg, a thought leader in this area, has made a white paper available on EPS’s on its NAPA Net Partner Corner page. And ABG Illinois has created a sample EPS that includes:
• Statement of Purpose
• Objectives
• Plan
• Measurement
• Specific Goals
• Program Outline
• Results
But Simoneaux and Rodgers argue for an Annual Education Program rather than an EPS, which may create liability and can become stagnant or inflexible. Either way, how we educate participants needs to change if we really believe that education can positively affect behavior at all – a belief that some studies show is in doubt.
