
The Pandemic Has Brought Advisers’ Succession Planning to the Fore
At the same time, more demand for financial advice has many retirement plan advisers looking to stay in the business

Retirement Industry People Moves
CFP Board names new D&I director; T. Rowe Price Retirement hires senior sales executive; Mid Atlantic Acquires PensionPro; and more.

IRS Announces FY 2021 Examination Priorities
RMDs in large DB plans and participant loans are among the items the agency says it will target in compliance initiatives.

Investment Product and Service Launches
Vanguard lowers fees for Target Retirement Trusts; State Street Global Advisors announces new bond ETF; Bernstein Research launches Alphalytics; and more.

Q1 2021 Sees ‘Record-Shattering’ Pace of Adviser M&As
Strong market conditions, increased competition from buyers and favorable deals for sellers laid the foundation for the activity, according to the latest data published by Echelon Partners.

Many Near-Retirees Don’t Understand Social Security Benefits
More than one-third failed a basic Social Security quiz administered by MassMutual.
RightBRIDGE Rollover Analysis Integrated With Retirement Learning Center
The partnership gives RightBRIDGE users access to detailed employer-sponsored plan data.
FSI Expands Health Insurance Program for Independent Advisers
The offering is billed as a new and affordable way for independent financial advisers to obtain ACA-compliant medical health insurance for themselves, their licensed staff and their families.

Bellwether IBM Stock Drop ERISA Lawsuit Settlement Published
The case history of IBM v. Jander shows the importance, but also the limitations, of Supreme Court rulings in fiduciary breach cases involving ERISA.

Lessons in Building Talented Teams

Lawsuit Says Retirement Plan Fiduciaries Failed to Monitor and Limit Revenue Sharing
The complaint against Wesco Distribution also alleges that the defendants chose higher-cost share classes for investments.

Judge Moves Forward ERISA Suit Against Coca-Cola Bottler
The judge found that plaintiffs in the case challenging the use of an actively managed TDF suite rather than its index version have pleaded sufficient claims.

Retirement Industry People Moves
LeafHouse and investGrade announce new marketing VP; AIG selects executive VP, global head of Operations; Loomis, Sayles & Company add leaders to ESG practice; and more.

Investment Product and Service Launches
eMoney Advisors adds new features to Monte Carlo set; Investors Heritage launches latest fixed index annuity; Wisconsin and Voya Investment Management reduce fees on Tomorrow’s Scholar 529 program; and more.

ICON Clinical Research Faces Common ERISA Claims
One feature the new complaint has in common with suits filed previously by Capozzi Adler is its reliance on comparing the plan’s expenses for investments and administration services with a group of alleged peers.

Judge Finds Participant Data Is Not a Plan Asset in Case Against Fidelity
As part of an excessive fee lawsuit against Shell Oil, Fidelity was named as a defendant and accused of breaching its fiduciary duties by sharing participant data with affiliates for solicitation of other products.

A New Telling of the Story of Persistent Inequality
SEI Acquires Oranj’s Cloud-Native Technology Platform
This is expected to enable advisers to engage with clients in technologically advanced ways
AIG Retirement Launches Latest Mobile Enrollment Experience
Employers working with AIG Retirement Services can select from different virtual and mobile elements—including QR codes, instructional videos and interactive education modules.
Advisor Websites, Snappy Kraken Partner on Marketing Initiative
They aim to make it easier for advisers to launch and monitor automated marketing campaigns