News

 The relentless march of 401(k) assets out of equities into fixed income continued unabated in August, according to the latest results of the Hewitt 401(k) Index.

The SPARK Institute has published the final version of its Best Practices for ERISA-covered 403(b) plans that must file a full Form 5500. 

A majority (55%) of 401(k) plan participants surveyed say they would use free personalized advice if their employer made it available. 

 Prudential Investments has launched IPS Scorecard, a tool that helps financial advisers and their plan sponsor clients assess whether their fund lineups meet the criteria in their investment...

 State Street Global Advisors (SSgA) has announced that the SPDR S&P Global Natural Resources ETF (Symbol: GNR) began trading on the NYSE Arca on Tuesday.

A survey conducted by Rydex|SGI's AdvisorBenchmarking of 427 registered investment adviser (RIA) firms found their average assets under management (AUM) increased by 28% from 2008 to 2009.  

Exchange-traded funds posted net outflows totaling roughly $1.3 billion August, ending a six-month streak of consecutive monthly inflows, according to Morningstar Direct’s Fund Flows Update.

Long-term fund flows increased by more than 11% in August versus July, and once again the lion's share went to fixed-income funds, according to the Morningstar Direct Fund...

Driven by ongoing demand for bond funds, U.S. mutual fund investors added about $20 billion in net new cash to U.S. stock and bond mutual funds in August...

Dow Jones Indexes has launched the Dow Jones Emerging Markets Consumer Titans 30 Index, measuring the performance of 30 leading consumer goods and consumer service companies in emerging...

The Insured Retirement Institute (IRI) has published a new version of their retirement-planning resource for financial advisers.

A federal judge in Indiana has given final approval to a $7-million settlement of a stock drop class action case against Guidant Corp.

Warren, Averett, Kimbrough & Marino, LLC, which describes itself as Alabama's largest certified public accounting and business consulting firm, has expanded its recordkeeping services reach. 

Standard & Poor's has launched the S&P 500 Dynamic VEQTOR X Index, a companion strategy index to the S&P 500 Dynamic VEQTOR Index which was launched last November.

Eaton Vance Corp. has announced the appointment of Scott P. Ruddick as Head of Institutional.

 J.P. Morgan Asset Management has announced the appointment of Nick Gartside to its fixed income investment team as International CIO of Fixed Income.

Even though ESOPs were not immune to impacts of the recent recession, leaders of ESOP companies still feel strongly that their company is better off than their non-ESOP...

The owner of a Pasadena, California, spa and salon has been charged with embezzling more than $26,000 withheld from employee paychecks for a 401(k) profit-sharing plan.

 Great-West Retirement Services has promoted Dan Morrison, a 10-plus year sales and service veteran, as regional director of national accounts for its Rocky Mountain market.

Ameriprise Financial’s second New Retirement Mindscape study finds significant changes compared to 2005 among those three to five years away from retirement.