You can learn a lot about a company by what happens behind the scenes on FreeERISA.
Take the Ford Motor Company. On any given day, around five people take aim at Ford's employee benefit filings on FreeERISA. That's not surprising – it's a big company that boasts 10 retirement plans and dozens of welfare programs from health to unpaid leave, with multiple concerns around administration, unionized versus non-unionized labor, manufacturing, etc.
The identities of the five people taking a peek vary over time, but the number remains relatively the same – except for the three days starting May 3, when Ford plans were viewed more than 90 times. That's a significant spike! But what could account for it? Is there something suddenly more appealing about Ford other than reliable suspension and competitive gas mileage?
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First I took a look back through any relevant news items that could point me in the right direction. A slap-on-the-wrist tax fine from Argentina? Not relevant. A full point jump in Ford stock in two weeks? That's possible, but they've had bigger jumps before without an uptick in 5500 viewing.
So I took a closer look. It turns out this wasn't an influx of vulturous plan advisors looking to take advantage of a plan when it's down. Out of 90, all but one of those form 5500 views came from only two entities: an investment management company and an HR firm. Neither of whom are listed as providers on Ford's 5500s.
I can't name names due to the confidentiality of our users, but – the question remains: what were they after?
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