In the coming weeks, investors are likely to be bombarded with predictions about what the future, and specifically the next year, may hold for their portfolios. When faced with recommendations of this sort, it would be wise to remember that investors are better served by sticking with a long-term plan rather than changing course in reaction to predictions and short-term calls.

I think finding out about the different levels of compensation is like peeling an onion because there are just so many layers...it’s certainly taking a lot of work, a lot of hours, and a lot of legal bills to find out what levels of compensation are out there and what can be salvaged in meeting this rule.

In two hypothetical situations investors finished thirty years of 401(k) saving and investing with $208,000 to $762,000 less than what they could have had by avoiding various types of mistakes.

Securities Attorney's Opinion: “It’s a watered-down version of what many of us thought would be a stringent fiduciary duty. There are carve-outs and holes in this rule that you could drive a pretty big Mack truck through.”