ROSEVILLE, Calif., Sept. 20, 2006 — Paladin Registry, LLC (http://www.paladinregistry.com) announced the launch of a new service that meets the requirements of the 2006 Pension Reform Act by providing the documentation that 401(k) plan sponsors are required to review so they can make prudent decisions when they select Fiduciary Advisors.
Jack Waymire, Paladin founder and author of "Who's Watching Your Money? The 17 Paladin Principles for Selecting a Financial Advisor" (ISBN 0471476994, John Wiley & Sons, 2003), said, "The self-directed 401(k) plan is the dominant type of retirement plan that is provided by most companies. One characteristic of these plans has been to make participants responsible for their own investment decisions with little or no professional assistance. Past regulations ignored the realities that most participants didn't have the time or knowledge to manage their own assets and they had no way to obtain advice that did not create fiduciary liability for plan trustees. The Pension Reform Act of 2006 corrects this problem by creating the Fiduciary Advisor. In the future, the advisors who meet the requirements of the Act will be able to counsel participants without creating liability for trustees. We believe virtually all 401(k) plans will offer the services of Fiduciary Advisors because trustees and plan participants are better off."
Waymire went on to say, "The Fiduciary Advisor regulation is the key to participants receiving the quality advice they desperately need to increase their retirement asset amounts. The Act spells out the requirements for those who want to call themselves Fiduciary Advisors and it tries to minimize several of the current abuses that impact plan participants. For example, financial professionals must acknowledge their fiduciary status, must provide comprehensive disclosures to plan sponsors and participants, must fully disclose reasonable compensation, must complete an annual compliance audit, and must provide written communications that are clear and easy to understand – no more 80-page prospectuses that are written in legal and investment jargon."
Waymire added, "The Registry already meets virtually all of the requirements of the Act, plus it provides additional information about the Fiduciary Advisors' credentials, ethics, and business practices. Any Registry shortcomings in relation to the Act will be corrected before the program is rolled out. By combining the Act's requirements with Registry documentation, plan sponsors will have all of the information they need to make prudent Fiduciary Advisor selection decisions and participants will have the information they need to maximize their retirement assets."
About Paladin Registry, LLC
The Paladin website, http://www.paladinregistry.com, provides three services to investors and trustees who use the services of financial planners, investment advisors, consultants, and Fiduciary Advisors. First, Tips-4-Investors is an educational resource that helps them avoid the risks and consequences of bad financial advice and helps them select high-quality financial professionals. Second, the Registry's search services help investors and trustees find competent, trustworthy advisors in their communities. And third, the Registry's profiling services document answers to many important questions that investors and trustees should be asking advisors before they select them.
Paladin Contact:
Jack Waymire
Paladin Registry, LLC
877-719-2022
Email