DC Daily Transfer Volumes Low in July

Defined contribution (DC) plan participants’ daily transfer volumes were low in July, according to the Aon Hewitt 401(k) Index.

Transfers averaged 0.023% of balance totals per day. The trailing 12-month daily average remained at 0.028%. July had one day when transfer activity reached above-normal levels.

July was a successful month for most equity market participants. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke affirmed his commitment to keep interest rates low for the foreseeable future, and earnings beats from bellwethers like Boeing, General Electric and American Express sent most major U.S. market indices higher for the month. Large U.S. equities (as measured by the S&P 500 Index) finished the month about 5% higher, while small U.S. equities (as measured by the Russell 2000 Index) finished 7% higher for the month.

Want the latest retirement plan adviser news and insights? Sign up for PLANADVISER newsletters.

Daily trading slightly favored equity-based investment vehicles during July, which experienced net gains from transfer activity for over half (55%) of the days.

Outflow activity was led by company stock funds, with $235 million (45%) of flows. Bond funds also decreased significantly, by $216 million (41%). Premixed was the third and only additional asset class to experience large outflows, down by $60 million (11%).

The majority of asset classes experienced net inflows during July. Most noteworthy, GIC/stable value funds received $129 million (25%), small U.S. funds received $107 million (20%), and large U.S. funds received $104 million (20%). International and mid U.S. funds also received $74 million (14%) and $57 million (11%), respectively.

Employee discretionary contributions, another measure of participant sentiment, jumped to 64.8% in equities for July, up from 63.8% in June. This is a record high for the Aon Hewitt 401(k) Index since September 2005 (64.7%).

By the end of July, participants’ overall equity allocation reached 63.3% from 62.2% at the end of June. The increase was due to market gains and the current equity allocation was the highest since March 2008 (63.1%).

More information about the July index can be found here.

Filling Out Forms in the Cloud

TD Ameritrade Institutional has integrated Laser App Anywhere, a cloud-based auto-fill technology that eliminates the need to re-enter information such as addresses and phone numbers.

A big part of an adviser’s day can be spent filling out numerous and often redundant forms for clients, which takes time from relationship management and expanding the business. Advisers can use the tool to complete forms more quickly and complete them on mobile devices. TD Ameritrade Institutional is the first custodian to offer the technology.

A move from the desktop to the cloud makes Laser App Anywhere accessible from any device with an Internet connection. Users benefit from easy access to client data, which can be securely transmitted and imported directly from TD Ameritrade Institutional’s Veo adviser platform or the adviser’s customer relationship management (CRM) system. Advisers can save time by grouping the most frequently used forms for quick access and using built-in integrations such as account opening workflows

Want the latest retirement plan adviser news and insights? Sign up for PLANADVISER newsletters.

TD Ameritrade Institutional also integrates DocuSign electronic signature and Laser App Anywhere with Veo to cut account opening time from days to minutes. This combination lets advisers simplify the process of sending and signing documents, as well as reduce contract cycle time and errors, trim costs and improve client service. Enabling electronic signatures in a digital, straight-through-processing system replaces manual pen-and-paper signing, faxing and overnight shipping with a one-click process advisers can complete on a mobile device.

“Advisers on our platform have benefited from Laser App software integration with Veo for several years, gaining greater efficiency and improved accuracy when creating new client account applications,” said Jon Patullo, managing director of technology product management, TD Ameritrade Institutional. “The integration of Laser App Anywhere’s Web-based technology with DocuSign further enhances the account opening process and supports TD Ameritrade Institutional’s larger effort to streamline workflows and provide better integrations between the technologies advisers use every day.”

Laser App Anywhere is free to advisers who custody assets with TD Ameritrade Institutional.

«