Products February 21, 2017

PrairieSmarts Risk Platform Acquired by Covisum

The firms suggest the new arrangement will deliver “powerful risk analytics” directly within an efficient retirement planning solution.
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PrairieSmarts’ risk management platform for financial services professionals has been acquired by Covisum, a retirement income planning technology and training solutions provider.

All products currently offered will continue to be available for purchase by adviser offices or as an enterprise-wide solution, the firms note. However, beginning later this year, advisers will be able to utilize the products on a singular web-based platform offered by Covisum. Current PrairieSmarts users will continue to have access to the platform’s integrations with Orion Advisors and Redtail Technology. 

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In 2016, Covisum rebranded from Social Security Timing to “better reflect its broader software and service offerings.” PrairieSmarts’ SmartRisk will join the Social Security Timing and Tax Clarity products as one of Covisum’s core offerings. The PrairieSmarts brand will continue to operate through much of 2017, after which their solutions will continue to be available on the Covisum platform, according to the firms.

The combined team “expects to be able to deliver winning solutions for common client challenges through the application of advanced analytics, artificial intelligence and machine-learning techniques delivered in an intuitive and actionable way.”

For more information, visit www.covisum.com. 

Compliance February 21, 2017

DOL Fiduciary Workshops Support Client Compliance

Speakers from the DOL will discuss basic fiduciary do’s and don’ts associated with operating an employer-sponsored retirement plan. 
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To help increase awareness and understanding about basic fiduciary responsibilities when operating a retirement or health benefit plan, the Department of Labor is presenting the Getting It Right – Know Your Fiduciary Responsibilities webcast series.

The webcast series will help employers and service providers understand how the fiduciary responsibility provisions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) apply to employer-sponsored retirement and health plans, and provide information about how to avoid common problems in managing a plan.

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Specifically, getting it right means understanding your plan and your responsibilities, carefully selecting and monitoring service providers, making contributions on time, providing appropriate disclosures to plan participants and filing annual reports to the government on time, and avoiding prohibited transactions.

The webcast series is being presented in three sessions. Attendees can register for all sessions or for individual sessions. 

March 14 at 2:00 p.m. EDT, speakers from the DOL will discuss basic fiduciary responsibilities when operating an employer-sponsored retirement plan and ERISA’s prohibited transactions provisions and exemptions.

March 16 at 2:00 p.m. EDT, speakers will address ERISA’s reporting and disclosure provisions for employer-sponsored retirement plans and the Department of Labor’s voluntary correction programs for retirement plans.

March 21 at 2:00 p.m. EDT, speakers will discuss basic fiduciary responsibilities when operating an employer-sponsored group health plan, ERISA’s reporting and disclosure provisions, and Qualified Medical Child Support Orders (QMCSOs).

Links to register for each day may be found here.

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