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Friday, June 23, 2017

GRAND TRAVERSE ACADEMY BOARD TRIES (AND FAILS) TO SHIRK RESPONSIBILITY FOR MOUNTING FINANCIAL MORASS: What About That $5.0 Million Full Spectrum Management 401(k)...Under Management By Mark Noss' Brother? (Hey, Those $895,000 Florida Condos Don't Grow On Trees!)



“Board members earlier this year collected bids from several management companies as tensions between Noss and the school board continued to grow. 

Werth repeatedly questioned Noss’ competency and noted GTA has for years been overpaying thousands of dollars for his services. Noss’ “self-serving” position paired with his threats to sue the school for past debt inherited by imprisoned school founder Steven Ingersoll raised additional concerns about his financial decisions, Werth previously said. 

Noss repeatedly declined to speak to a Record-Eagle reporter about the accusations.” 

Left out of the public discussion of the purported parting of ways between the Grand Traverse Academy and Mark Noss and his Full Specrtum Management is the 401(K) plan under management by Luke Noss.

Oh, you didn't know that?

The most recent Department of Labor Form 5500, Annual Return/Report of Annual Benefit Plan, filed on June 14, 2017 includes audited financial statements — and reveals nearly $80,000 in delinquent participation contributions, with Noss delaying the transmission of employee 401(k) contributions long past the maximum 15 business day period.

Hmmm?


Meaningful 401(k) fee data is hard to come by. 


Required publicly available filings – most notably the Form 5500 – provide only snippets of fee data. And 401(k) providers are of little help as few disclose fees online or in published documents. 

Even worse, plan fees are often a tangle of 'direct' fees from employees and sponsors and 'indirect' fees that come from certain investment providers. 

Following the money is a difficult job even for those willing to invest the time and energy to do so. 

The United States Labor Department’s so-called 401(k) fee disclosure rule went into effect five years ago, in July 2012. 

Under that rule, plan administrators are required to mail you a quarterly statement showing your investments’ rates of returns, investment-related fees, and expenses, including any amounts the plan deducted from your account to cover administrative expenses. 

The day-to-day operation of a 401(k) plan involves expenses for basic administrative services--such as plan record keeping, accounting, legal and trustee services. 

In some cases, these plan-administration expenses are covered by investment fees deducted from investment returns. In other cases, these fees are a separate charge borne by the employer or charged directly against the assets of the plan. 

So, at a minimum, plan participants should not be lulled into thinking that all they are paying for their 401(k) is plan administration fees. 

Wall Street is a nice place to work, but why live in lower Manhattan when there's so much cheddar in Northern Michigan?

Naples, Florida...here I come.

3 comments:

  1. The tensions are just beginning, it seems! I'm calling the Record-Eagle to put some pressure on the GTA, Noss and the GTA board of ed. The Record-Eagle needs to give the whole truth and do proper journalism.

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    1. You are completely correct, the Record Eagle does need to create a newspaper that is truthful and equitable. They seem to cover up stores with misinformation. I am sure if they followed the real story their sales would skyrocket. People want to know the truth, they don't want their newspaper giving out uninvestigated false propoganda. The paper has a DUTY to it's community to protect it. Stop supporting corrupt individuals, expose their asses, help keep your city honest and progressive.

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    2. Anyone connected to Noss or Ingersoll should not be trusted. Boy I would be rolling over my money into somewhere else. I wonder how much they will scam everyone for. PAY ATTENTION TEACHERS. Don't even believe for one second your money is safe with them. It isn't!

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