You may have a diploma on the wall, but learning never stops. Or at least it shouldn’t — and fiduciary skills are no exception to the wisdom of expanding knowledge and making sure one is equipped to meet current and future conditions and challenges.
The Roland Criss law firm points out that simple awareness about the plan’s investments is insufficient. They argue that given federal enforcement, lower plan enrollment and changed prospects for retirement savings and income, plan administrators, providers and advisors need to make sure they have the training that will allow them to be effective fiduciaries.
They also offer some pointers on how to stay on top of what one needs to know in order to be an effective ERISA fiduciary. These include:
• obtain training in the fiduciary disciplines: governance, administration investments and controls;
• make sure that everyone who has a fiduciary role with the plan gets the training they need; and
• arrange to receive reminders concerning ERISA functions and processes and best fiduciary practices.
