Any type of item that keeps you health is a good thing as long as you use it. So the floss I bought after my last checkup and the treadmill that I bought my wife a few years ago that is collecting dust are meaningless if they are not being used.

The same can be said about an educational policy statement that many retirement plan financial advisors are trying to draft for their clients or use as a way to solicit business.

In a nutshell, it’s a gimmick. Not a rip-off like the fiduciary warranty, but it’s not magic because any advisor could help plan sponsors draft one.

An educational policy statement (EPS) mimicked of course after the investment policy statement is cute marketing, but absolutely of no use if the plan sponsor isn’t going to abide by it. I like the idea behind the EPS, it’s always a great idea to memorialize fiduciary decisions with paperwork. I just worry that plan sponsors won’t provide the investment education that plan participants need in a participant-directed 401(k) plan. An EPS is a nice idea on paper, but only effective if it’s not just on paper and being used to offer education.