Retirement responsibilities 

"Someone's sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago." 

The stakes are high, the task is difficult 

At a time when individuals are becoming increasingly responsible for accumulating the wealth to fund a comfortable retirement, the task of making the right investment decisions is becoming more difficult. Professionally managed employer pension programs are being replaced by self directed employee 401(k) and IRA programs, threatening retirement security.

• There are more investment choices then ever before—the average 401(k) program has over 19 choices;

• Investors are bombarded with conflicting information and opinions and have difficulty deciding which to listen to—often causing inaction which has its own consequences.

While self directed programs are well received by employees, the unintended consequences include under-funding, poor management and higher expenses.