Having Good Investment "Hair" Is Important
Today was the end of the first calendar quarter and the deadline for mailing the annual $250 business entity tax check to the State of Connecticut. No longer Pension Governance, LLC (we are now organized as Pension Governance, Incorporated), this little act marked our final payment of what I call the "just because we can" tax. But I digress.
As I got to the local post office, minutes from their 5:00 p.m. closing, I asked the nice man behind the counter to postmark it for today, evidencing that I mailed the check on time, like a good business doobie. As he processed my letter, Bob remarked how much he liked my new hair style. Taken aback a bit (because I had not combed my hair before I jumped in the car), I realized that Bob perceived my do as new and hip (some version of the wild gal look). For those who know me, my favorite outfit is yoga pants, a teeshirt and sneakers, with minimal time spent on fancy makeup and coiffs. (Men are so lucky - no heels, no mascara.)
This humorous encounter (Bob is a nice man, always friendly and helpful.) got me to thinking about investment best practices and the extent to which so few organizations publicize their good deeds.
If a plan sponsor or service provider is going to spend time, money and other resources to embark on a robust fiduciary-focused process (regardless of plan design focus), why not flaunt it? No doubt plan participants, shareholders and taxpayers alike want to know that their money is in good hands. On the flip side, how many organizations come to mind that do a poor job but are perceived as being "good guys and gals" (i.e. didn't comb)?
Wouldn't it be great to go beyond numbers and instead have information such as:
- Who persons the investment committee (experience, education, relationships with vendors)
- How often they meet
- How they make decisions on managers, strategies and so on
- What internal controls are in place to avoid conflicts of interest and potential runaway losses...?
Isn't it time that we separated the good hair from the bad hair?
