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Just received my 401k statement and beside each of the 19 fund options there is a Fund Operating Expense column. For Oppenheimer Global A, it shows 1.05%. Can I assume that 1.05% is the correct expense amount I'm being charged on my contributions to that fund? The Oppenheimer web site is confusing, in that it shows data for Global A with sales charge and Global A w/o sales charge. (Of course the "with a sales charge" listing indicates a much a great return than the w/o.) But there is no reference to what the sales charge actually is. Thanks, Joe Houston PS: Am I the only one who is suspicious of their 401k administrator?

Joe,

 I suggest a direct and non-paranoid conversation with someone in HR at your company. As you probably know, the commissions on A shares vary with the size of the purchase. They generally start around 5.5 percent for the minimum purchase but decline as the size of the commitment increases. Many funds have ZERO commission on purchases of $1 million or more. So you really have to ask your HR person what the company negotiated with Oppenheimer.

Small plans generally have higher expenses than large plans and some companies get record keeping, etc. bundled into the plan by allowing such higher expenses, including commissions.

 As a general rule, I've always found HR people to be sincerely interested in getting the best deal for employees. Sadly, many are not very sophisticated so they can be sold a bill of goods by the people who sell plans. Worse, HR people are generally over-ruled by higher ups who may be calculating the impact of higher company expenses on their stock options. In other words, it's better to be world-wise than suspicious.

Scott