Ladies and gentlemen...I need your collective wisdom.

I'm suddenly finding myself An Employer. After years of contributing to the mother ship's plan, as of January 1 I'm president of a for-profit corporation with 20 employees (including four partners/HCEs).

Getting a qualified retirement plan (as a defined contribution plan) set up is fairly straightforward with the local talent. But getting someone to hold the money is getting to be tricky:

--Merrill Lynch et. al. will happily pick both my pockets.
--Vanguard et. al. will administer the plan and give me and mine a bunch of mutual funds to choose from.
--Discount brokers want only my personal IRA.

Trouble is, I'm a Fool, and I want to self-direct my own investments. (Third year in a row I'm beating the S&P 500 and have had a good time doing it). Getting that set up, while meeting ERISA requirements for my fiduciary responsibility to my employees, is getting to be tricky. My understanding is that they need to be given choices, but need to be constrained to responsible ones, and need to be educated as to those choices. Once I do that for them, it seems I'm back to Vanguard and mutual-funds-only. The Wise have me between two horns, it would seem.

Anyone have better thoughts than surrendering to the Wise, sticking it all in an index fund and learning to play golf for fun instead?

(Tom and Dave: where is the Fool Qualified Retirement Plan when I need it -- hint, hint?)

--sutton