The Markets June 26, 2009

N.C. County Suspends 401(k) Match

Cumberland County, North Carolina, government workers will not get employer contributions to their 401(k) retirement accounts starting July 1.
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According to the Fayetteville Observer, in a memorandum to employees this week, County Manager James Martin said the indefinite suspension of the contributions is being made with the hope that it will “mitigate more severe budget reductions” later. The move is projected to save about $650,000.

County Attorney Grainger Barrett said the money will be held in escrow in case it is needed to help make up budget shortfalls during the fiscal year, and if it goes unused, the money will be put into employee accounts next summer, the newspaper reported.

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County commissioners have approved longevity pay increases only for veteran employees next year, and Martin has ordered travel, training, vehicle purchases, hiring and other expenditures to be delayed, or curtailed.

Products June 26, 2009

Scottrade Launches New Adviser Web Platform

Scottrade Advisor Services said it introduced its Advisor Services Web platform with upgraded trading and account management resources.
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The new platform offers advisers new tools to help them easily manage and organize accounts, trade more efficiently, track gains and losses, and quickly produce client reports, according to Scottrade Advisor Services, which offers support for registered investment advisers (RIAs). The platform is available to advisers with practices of all sizes who use Scottrade Advisor Services as their custodian.

The enhanced platform features back-end technology that enables Scottrade to quickly add new features and functionality quarterly, the firm said in a press release.

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According to the release, with the new Web platform, advisers can:

  • group individual client accounts together for one-click trades across multiple accounts;
  • use the new Power Search feature to identify clients based on a wide variety of criteria, such as account value, portfolio composition, and individual stocks owned;
  • select pre-allocation and post-allocation options to buy and trade with maximum efficiency;
  • allocate trades based on percentage of available funds or straight quantity;
  • see real-time allocations of trades and how individual accounts are affected at the time of the trade with the option to print account summaries for clients on the spot;
  • track gains/losses using Scivantage Maxit.

In addition to receiving online trading services and tools, Scottrade Advisor Services provides an individualized Relationship Team to each adviser, the firm said. The team answers account-related questions, offers technology-related advice, and provides some back-office support functions.

 

More information is available at www.Advisor.Scottrade.com.

 

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