Compliance March 20, 2007

Road Warriors, Beware!

If you access your retirement accounts online while on the road, be careful.
Reported by

Those accounts may have been targeted by hackers, according to a news report.

ABC News is reporting that cybercriminals are hacking their way into accounts and looting 401k and online stock trading accounts, citing comments from officials at the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Securities and Exchange Commission. The report says that in many cases workers have had their user IDs and passwords stolen when they use computers at hotel business centers and other Internet connection points.
Wake Up “Call”
“You could wake up one morning and find all your money in your retirement account or in your trading account is gone,” said John Reed Stark, Chief of Internet Enforcement at the Securities and Exchange Commission. The FBI says the criminals bug those computers in the business resource centers with programs to record every key typed. That kind of keystroke recording was recently at issue in a case involving the Federal government’s own Thrift Savings Plan (see Hackers Make Off with $35,000 of TSP Participant Money).
In addition to the Russian rings, authorities have also seen hackers in India, Hong Kong and Malaysia going after similar online accounts, according to the report.
Victims have included customers of E-trade, Scott Trade, Ameritrade, Fidelity, Merrill Lynch, Charles Schwab and Vanguard.
A video report is online HERE
Products March 20, 2007

Morningstar’s Principia Gets Asset Allocation Module

Morningstar, Inc. introduced Principia Asset Allocation, a new module for the financial planning resource that helps advisers create individualized asset allocation strategies based on a client's personal circumstances, including risk tolerance, current assets, and future needs.
Reported by

The module utilizes Ibbotson Associates’ optimization and wealth forecasting engine, the company said. Advisers are able to determine an asset mix most likely to achieve the highest return for a given level of risk for clients by using the optimization engine and graphing function.

Monte Carlo wealth forecasting allows advisers to simulate the potential performance of both taxable and tax-deferred portfolios, taking into account the impact of such factors as inflation, taxes, and future savings on a client’s ending wealth level, a company announcement said. The program also allows advisers to generate customized reports to present investment plans to clients.

Never miss a story — sign up for PLANADVISER newsletters to keep up on the latest retirement plan adviser news.

Principia, a desktop software program for financial advisers, gives advisers the ability to conduct advanced research and analysis, monitor portfolios, and propose investment strategies by accessing a research database that includes mutual funds, stocks, exchange-traded funds, variable annuities, closed-end funds, and separately managed accounts.

In 2005, Morningstar added a Defined Contribution Plans module to the program that helps financial advisors to DC plans evaluate a plan’s fund lineup and build a recommended list of investments. That module provides information on diversification across asset classes, styles, and regions, quality of investment options, and fees associated with the plan and its investment options.

Principia Asset Allocation module costs $995 per year. More information is available at: http://global.morningstar.com/Principia.

«