Compliance December 4, 2009

IRS Announces 2010 Taxable Wage Base for Permitted Disparity

The Internal Revenue Service has issued Revenue Ruling 2009-40, providing the table of covered compensation for the 2010 plan year for use in determining contributions to defined benefit plans and permitted disparity in defined contribution plan contributions.

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For purposes of determining covered compensation for the 2010 plan year, the taxable wage base is $106,800, unchanged from the 2009 wage base. Permitted disparity allows for larger contributions or benefits with respect to compensation in excess of the Social Security wage base.

In determining an employee’s covered compensation for a plan year, the taxable wage base for the plan year is the taxable wage base in effect as of the beginning of the plan year.

Revenue Ruling 2009-40 is here.

Deals & People December 4, 2009

Northern Trust Announces Selections for Emerging Broker Program

Northern Trust's asset management arm, Northern Trust Global Investments (NTGI), has selected seven emerging and minority/women-owned broker/dealers for its list of preferred equity trading partners.

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According to an announcement, the equity trading firms, which met selection criteria including execution capabilities, technology platforms, and capital commitment, are:

  • M.R. Beal and Company (Chicago);
  • Blaylock Robert Van Securities, LLC (Oakland, California);
  • Cabrera Capital Markets, LLC (Chicago);
  • Guzman & Company (Coral Gables, Florida);
  • Loop Capital Markets (Chicago);
  • M. Ramsey King Securities, Inc. (Burr Ridge, Illinois); and
  • Samuel A Ramirez & Company, Inc. (New York City).

“In addition to best execution in particular markets, these firms demonstrate a commitment to compliance and risk management that is important to Northern Trust and our clients,” said Lyle Logan, executive vice president and managing director of client servicing and sales at NTGI.

Equity trading partners were selected by NTGI executives from a group of 36 broker/dealers that responded to a request for information. Northern Trust went through a similar process in 2007, and the firms selected then were invited to rebid. Because fixed-income requires a larger universe of trading partners to achieve liquidity and best pricing, NTGI does not limit the number of firms it considers for fixed-income trading.

In 2008, Northern Trust traded in excess of $40 billion worth of equity and fixed-income securities with broker/dealers in the Emerging Broker Program, up from $30 billion in 2006. 

Northern Trust’s diversity commitment also includes its Emerging Managers Practice, which invests more than $4 billion across 46 investment strategies and 42 emerging-minority-owned investment management firms through manager-of-manager programs.

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