Market timing and excessive trading may directly impact you and other
participants. Many fund companies are restricting the trading ability of
participants who the fund considers to be excessive traders or market timers.
Such restrictions are a result of the concern by funds that the actions of a few
participants may be detrimental to the majority of participants.
The prospectus of a fund governs how the fund company manages the fund, how
it must treat participants, and outlines the rights of the participants. The
prospectus may set forth rules on how many trades a participant can make within
a certain period of time and whether certain activity may be deemed to be
damaging to the fund or its participants. Many funds, in their prospectuses,
retain the right to determine what constitutes excessive trading or market
timing and the ability to take action to restrain such activity.
To address
market timing and excessive trading, Great-West Retirement Services
®
has developed procedures to follow when a fund suspects market timing or
excessive trading has occurred. Under our current procedures, if contacted by a
fund that suspects a participant is engaging in excessive trading or market
timing, we provide the fund with the recent trading activity of the participant.
Such information is confidential. If the fund determines that such activity is
excessive trading or market timing, we notify the participant and the
appropriate entity that administers that participant's plan. The plan then
selects a trading restriction that will apply. The restriction may take the form
of limiting trades within a certain time period or prohibiting use of the web or
KeyTalk
® to implement trades.
Again, the decision is made by the fund company under the terms of its
prospectus and disclosure documents. Great-West Retirement Services®
is the service provider for your plan and acts at the direction of the entity
that administers your plan and the funds. If you have any concern about your
trading activities, you may want to review the prospectuses of the funds offered
by your plan.