Legends for Our Times

Ours is an industry of fairly recent invention–one that is, in many respects, only just beginning to emerge from the growth pangs of adolescence. Ours is an industry constantly and dramatically evolving–and one that all too often seems relentlessly driven to push us forward to the next challenge, through the next legislative overhaul, and onto the next wave of tumult in the markets, sometimes in the same six-month period. For plan sponsors, change is not only the order of the day, it is the day. That certainly has been true for the 15 years during which PLANSPONSOR has been published.

But if the pace is relentlessly forward, there are nonetheless those among us who have a vision that stands out from the crush of the day, who provide a better way for the rest of us, either through thoughts or deeds, to succeed in helping bring about a more secure future for those who depend on us.

As our 15th anniversary approached, we began thinking about those individuals--individuals who have made an impact on this business of retirement benefits. For clarity, we limited our focus to the past 15 years, though there are certainly individuals whose contributions predate that timeframe and whose impact is still felt today. We also limited our list to 15, though it could easily have been twice that size.

They are leaders, innovators, partners—some have challenged the status quo, others have laid the foundation for a new one, and still others have helped us all negotiate the period(s) in between. There are some familiar faces, as you might expect–many have appeared in our pages over the years, several were highlighted as “influencers” in our 10th anniversary issue, and a number have subsequently been honored with PLANSPONSOR’s Lifetime Achievement Award. There also are some with which you may not be familiar, though you are almost certainly aware of their contributions. We are pleased to be able to introduce them to you here. Admittedly, there may well be those on this list that some may challenge–or some not represented who have arguably made equally significant contributions.

This is, however, our list–15 who have, in our estimation, during the passage of the past decade and a half, made a lasting contribution to the nation’s retirement security.

There are those who make a difference in our lives– parents, spouses, mentors, friends–and then there are those who make a difference in all of our lives.

They are legends.

- Nevin E. Adams, JD

The legends are online HERE

Marshal Law

When a co-worker forwarded to me an e-mail about Eliot Spitzer’s alleged tie with a prostitution ring last week, I thought it was a joke.

It was no joke, of course—though, in incredibly short order, it became something of a circus (one can only hope that with Spitzer’s resignation, we’ll be spared the tiresome details about the personal life of the prostitute(s) whose services he engaged).

Spitzer was touted as a crusader by some—but like the crusaders of old, his motives and actions surely weren’t always pure. And though he reportedly embraced the image of a sheriff, he more accurately brought to mind Henry Fonda’s gunslinger marshal Clay Blaisdell in “Warlock” who, hired to rid the town of terrorizing bandits, soon became an even more ominous threat to the peace and well-being of the citizenry.

Spitzer made a lot of enemies during his career—IMHO, not so much because of what he did, but how he chose to do it. He was, of course, challenging large and powerful interests, but he frequently seemed all too willing to resort to the equivalent of extortion to impose his will on the targets of his investigations.

He may or may not have had the interests of his New York constituency at heart—he may well have merely viewed it as part of a political calculus designed to take him to Albany, and perhaps beyond. However, for the very most part, he wrested acquiescence and money, not guilty verdicts, from his targets. And, mind you, much, if not most, of the financial benefits have wound up in the Empire State’s coffers, not the pockets of those actually injured.

Still, whatever lies ahead for Mr. Spitzer, he has unquestionably left his mark on this industry. Because of his efforts, a number of illegal—and many highly questionable—practices were brought to light, and a new, sharper focus was brought to bear on the fees paid by the investing public, including 401(k) plan participants. I can still remember reading—with much the same incredulity that accompanied the early reporting of Spitzer’s prostitution ties—the arrangements that fund complexes had made to facilitate late trading, the pre-communication about trading movements with hedge funds, and the written agreements that violated both the spirit and letter of these same funds’ commitment to shareholders (see “IMHO: Wrong-Headed”). And let’s not forget that certain other regulatory bodies, given the opportunity to step in, did not (see “IMHO: Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea”).

Ultimately, of course, what got most of those firms in trouble was the hypocrisy of saying they did one thing while they did something else altogether. That, and a certain hubris about the application of the law. These are maladies often visited upon those grown too rich and too powerful.

It’s more than mildly ironic that they now appear to have contributed to the downfall of a man who also grew rich - and perhaps too powerful - at the expense of others.

- Nevin E. Adams, JD