The DOL’s proposed regulation on selecting investments, including alternative assets, 2026-06178.pdf, identifies six factors that need to be considered in the process of selecting any investments for participant-directed plans, such as 401(k) plans and private sector 403(b) plans. The six factors are: Performance, Fees, Liquidity, Valuation, Performance Benchmark, and Complexity. The proposal describes each of those factors and provides 20 examples of their application. In my post, Alternative Assets (9), I discussed the second factor, Fees. This article looks at the first DOL example of the application of the Fees factor. The example is: (1) Example. Fees; Customer service— (i) Facts. The named fiduciary of a plan (e.g., the plan sponsor or plan investment committee) considers five stock funds that follow similar strategies in passively tracking the same index. The named fiduciary evaluates the funds with the assistance of a third-party investment advice fiduciary within the meaning of section 3(21)(A)(ii) of ERISA and finds that the five funds have had similar historical risk-adjusted returns and liquidity, and that the funds have very different ratings for customer service and communication. The named fiduciary selects the fund with the highest fees and highest rating for customer service and communication. This fund offers