The new regulations charge plan sponsors with the duty of uncovering service provider compensation and determining that compensation received from all sources is reasonable in light of the services provided.

Investment fees can be hard to determine; and it's not uncommon for plan fiduciaries to be completely in the dark as to what their plans are really costing them and/or their participants.

Quite often, particularly in bundled offerings, there are multiple layers of fees... and the footnotes can be particularly enlightening; but, here's a short list you might want to review for your plan:

• Sub TA Fees (sub transfer agent fees)
• 12(b)(1) Fees
• Load Fees (Front-end and Back-End)
• Expense Ratios:  Mutual Fund and Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) Internal Management Expenses
• Redemption Fees
• Exchange Fees
• Account Fees
• Soft-Dollars - 28(e) Safe-Harbor
• Unitized Variable Annuity Wrap Fees

Then you need to watch for add-ons for each participant and other possible wraps.

Some of these fees are easier to find than others.   Look at your share classes available in each fund's prospectus.  Are your participants in the retail share classes or the institutional share classes.  The difference in cost can be dramatic.  If you're paying retail, you should be asking 'why'.  Ask questions, about load fees, contingent deferred sales charges, redemption fees, 12(b)(1) fees and Sub-TA fees.

Is your advisor being paid a flat consulting fee under a contract, or are you paying based on a percentage of assets?   If plan assets grow by 40% in three years (due to company growth, new and additional contributions, and/or asset growth), did your advisor really earn a 40% raise in 36 months?    Is that reasonable? 

Here's a DOL paper on plan fees you may find helpful.

Enjoy!