Self-directed 401(k) accounts give participants greater choice.

Self-directed brokerage accounts (SDBs) have become an increasingly popular trend within 401(k) plans. Prior to 1992, few large firms offered them to plan participants as part of their 401(k) choices. In comparison, SDBs had been popular with smaller professional firms, such as law firms, years earlier. In fact, it was not unheard of for a law firm to have its entire 401(k) plan be a self-directed brokerage account.

SDBs are usually structured as a window a plan participant can use to purchase 401(k) investments from among a large array of mutual funds or individual st