Compliance May 28, 2009

Milberg Announces Puerto Rican Bank ERISA Probe

The Milberg law firm announced an investigation into possible violations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) by Popular Inc. U.S.A., a San Juan, Puerto Rico-based financial services firm.
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The investigation could potentially lead to filing a stock- drop lawsuit. A Milberg news release said the firm is investigating possible violations in the handling of the Popular, Inc. U.S.A. 401(K) Savings & Investment Plan by keeping company stock as a 401(k) plan investment option when it was no longer prudent to do so, and by not fully disclosing its true financial condition to participants.

Specifically, the news announcement said, the firm is looking into whether the company disclosed:

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  • that its deferred tax assets related to its U.S. operations were materially overstated;
  • that the company was experiencing increasing loan losses in Puerto Rico and the U.S. construction sectors;
  • that the quality of the company’s remaining mortgage-related loans in its U.S. mainland portfolios and other assets were deteriorating and were materially overstated;
  • that the company was experiencing a higher percentage of non-performing loans;
  • that the company’s new loan originations were declining and as a result the company would soon be facing liquidity concerns and would be forced to cut or eliminate its dividend to shareholders.
Products May 28, 2009

Matrix Launches Adviser Training Program

Matrix Financial Solutions, Inc., announced the launch of its Matrix U program.
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Matrix U is an education program that provides tools and resources for advisers to compete and grow their retirement plan business in an open-architecture provider, according to a news release from Matrix, a provider of open-architecture products and services for third-party administrators (TPAs), financial advisers, banks, and wealth management professionals.

Matrix said it utilized the consulting and retirement services firm Integrated Retirement Initiatives (IRI) to oversee and assist with governance of the program, which offers workshops, seminars, Webinars, and personal coaching sessions, as well as a certificate program.

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According to the company, Matrix U offers advisers many educational opportunities, including:

  • Open-Architecture Summit: A Roadmap to Success: a three-hour workshop designed for advisers, plan specialists, and consultants that want to learn about open-architecture and how it can help them grow their business (scheduled around the country);
  • Retire Mastery Certificate Program: involves online training programs, hands-on training with investment selection and monitoring tools, such as the MG Advisory product, RetireTool(k)it, and a nine-module institute that will help attendees master the key components of selling and servicing retirement plans using open-architecture (the first kicks off in August in Keystone, Colorado);
  • Webinars: a quick way to learn more about the basics of open-architecture, outlining the benefits of open-architecture approach versus the bundled approach (held every Wednesday at 2:30 MT, starting in June);
  • Ongoing education: Web-based training programs and industry articles keeping advisers up-to-date on the latest news in the financial services industry, including open-architecture and regulatory developments, among others.

To introduce the program, Matrix U will hit the road with more than 30 Summit meetings in 16 cities across the country.

A Matrix U Web site will be launched later this year, allowing advisers access to articles and recorded Webinars that will qualify for Retire Mastery Certificate continuing education. (The address is http://matrixuniversity.fugent.com/home/events.asp.)

“In the past, bundled products have been attractive to advisers because they are easy-to-use, however, they also dramatically reduce the options available to participants,” said Cliff D’Amato, CEO, MSCS, a Matrix affiliate company, in the release. “Matrix U levels the playing field and provides advisers with the option to learn about and move to an open-architecture approach. In the end, the ability to select funds objectively, purely on the basis of merit from a much larger universe is a decisive competitive advantage and is a win-win for the adviser and client.”

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