Professor Samantha J. Prince quoted in MarketWatch article

CARLISLE, Pa.—Professor Samantha J. Prince was recently quoted by Brett Arends in his MarketWatch article originally titled “This Chart Shows Why Stocks Aren’t All They’re Cracked Up to Be” and then alternatively titled, “Why you shouldn’t fall in love with the S&P 500.” (MSN Money and other sources also amplified the article.) The piece critiques long-term stock market return averages, arguing that they can misrepresent the true volatility investors face.

The article highlights that misleading long-term averages can cause ordinary investors to underestimate the risks of extended periods of dismal returns. Following recent market gains, this risk is particularly relevant and often greater than it appears to be. The article cites Professor Prince’s piece, “Nest Eggs and Lifelines: The Overlooked Strain of Economic Volatility on 401(k) Participants,” which shows how the costs of market volatility disproportionately affect those least able to bear them.

“During times of economic volatility, 401(k)s shift from nest eggs solely used for retirement to lifelines to cover living expenses,” Prince told Arends. Because many investors rely on these funds for immediate income, even brief stock market fluctuations can pose risks far more severe than long-term averages suggest.

She elaborated, “They may be forced to sell at low points, locking in losses and missing out on future gains, not because they want to but because they need to.”

Prince’s work on 401(k) plans, which includes the above-mentioned “Nest Eggs” article, also includes “Megacompany Employee Churn Meets 401(k) Vesting Schedules: A Sabotage on Workers’ Retirement Wealth,” published by Yale Law & Policy Review; “The Effects of 401(k) Vesting Schedules—in Numbers”, published by The Yale Law Journal Forum; “Promoting Financial Empowerment via 401(k) Plan Domestic Abuse Victim Distributions,” published by the George Washington Business & Finance Law Review online; “Benefits Transparency,” published by Marquette Law Review (where she called for more transparency through mandatory disclosure of 401(k) plan details); and “Benefits Washing,” published by the Georgetown Law Journal Online (where she shows examples of companies that “wash” their 401(k) plan details, including vesting schedules).

Professor Samantha J. Prince is an associate professor of law. She has a Master of Laws in Taxation from Georgetown University Law Center and was a partner in a regional law firm where she handled transactional matters that ranged from an initial public offering to regular representation of a publicly traded company. A significant part of her practice was in employee benefits, including retirement plan design and operation. Her expertise from practice has fueled her research, enabling her to become an expert on 401(k) vesting schedules, employee benefits transparency, and gig work. In practice, most of her clients were small- to medium-sized businesses and entrepreneurs, including start-ups. Professor Prince brought her practice knowledge to the Law School and established the Penn State Dickinson Law entrepreneurship program. She is an advisor for the Entrepreneurship Law Certificate that is available to students and is the founder and moderator of the Inside Entrepreneurship Law blog.