The SEC is considering mandating that mutual fund pricing take the form of swings as opposed to the present flat-rate method. The anticipated modifications may make it impossible for 401(k) plans to continue offering mutual funds as investment options, which could have a substantial impact.
Swing pricing is a strategy that daily modifies a fund's net asset value to reflect the anticipated cost of redemptions. This is done to lessen fund runs, lessen the impact of panic sells, and safeguard current shareholders from dilution.
If you are the sponsor of a 401(k) plan, your participants likely have access to a small number of mutual funds. Some of these mutual funds could be eligible to be dropped from your fund lineup. Less fees, more investment options, and a better retirement experience for your plan's participants could result from this. But how do you go about it?
Earlier this year, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) suggested amending Rule 22c-1 of the Investment Company Act of 1940. Swing pricing would be required for all Open-Ended Funds under the proposal. The way that investors buy and sell open-end funds would be significantly altered by this.
Swing pricing involves changing an Open-End Fund's NAV per share to reflect a price shift, typically brought on by net redemptions. This is done to counteract the investment dilution of current shareholders. Additionally, it is an effort by the SEC to promote dynamic dilution management.
The ability to swing pricing is hampered by the difficulty of gathering adequate flow data. Typically, financial intermediaries place buy and sell orders with open-end funds. These orders, however, might take some time to process and might not be sent until beyond the actual cutoff time.
A recent proposal by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) would require Open-Ended Funds to include an expected flow in their trading strategy. Although it might seem like a wonderful concept, some investors might potentially lose money if this is implemented.
A fund would need to acquire information prior to 4 p.m. in order to predict an adequate flow. This could be accomplished by using a computer model or by gathering information from previous transactions. Some intermediaries might also decide to follow the practice of processing orders later. However, these procedures would necessitate a large investment in order processing machinery, making the SEC's proposed "hard closure" rule expensive and challenging to put into practice.
Over the course of the time spent working on this proposal, the SEC has accumulated almost 800 comments. The Swing Pricing Administrator may make decisions based on reasonable predictions, and the Open-Ended Funds may utilize an indicative flow model to estimate their own flows, according to two alternatives to the hard close requirement that have been discussed by the agency.
Depending on the choice made by an employee, the possible impact on 401(k) plan assets could be either good or negative. Participants' contributions to their account balances, however, have decreased over the last five years. Numerous reasons, including the recession and the financial crisis, are to blame for this.
The average 401(k) participant has $36,000 invested in a plan, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) and the ICI Participant-Directed Retirement Plan Data Collection Project. Participants had 74% of their assets in equities as of year's end in 2018.
401(k) plan investments can be advantageous, particularly if you are setting money down for retirement. A profit-sharing plan known as a 401(k) enables employees to set aside a percentage of their salaries for retirement. Contributions made by employees are frequently matched by their employers, adding to the benefits of tax deferral. A typical match will be 50 cents on the dollar, depending on the plan.
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