INVESTMENT FEES, NET RETURNS, AND CONFLICT OF INTEREST IN 401(K) PLANS
利用近400家第三方计划管理人的专有数据库，研究发现由资产管理咨询公司、商业银行和保险公司管理的401(k)计划投资费用最高、净收益最低，这与管理人推荐自有基金的利益冲突有关。
Abstract Using a proprietary database of predominantly small to mid‐size 401(k) plans administered by nearly 400 unique third‐party plan administrators (TPAs), we examine the potential effects of a conflict of interest that arises from the TPA's incentive to recommend its funds for the investment menu. We find that investment fees are highest and net returns are lowest for plans administered by asset management advisory firms, commercial banks, and insurance companies. The higher fees and lower returns are related to the existence of TPA proprietary funds in these plans' menus and to proxies for agency conflicts capturing proprietary trading and revenue sharing.