News

Exchange-traded funds, or ETFs, appear to be enjoying a resurgence in popularity among 401(k) providers.

Seligman Advisors, Inc. has added two new funds to its TargetHorizon ETF Portfolios offering.

Current trends are leading to an emerging generation of longer-working individuals forced to become personal

If you administer a plan with over 100 participants, the deadline is approaching for providing those participants with one of the required documents, a Summary Annual Report (SAR).

In 44 B.C. a soothsayer advised Julius Caesar to "Beware the Ides of March." It's an admonition that can still apply to 401(k) plan administration today when it comes the to Actual Deferral Percentage Test (ADP).

"Fiduciary" is a word that is generally used in the company of ominous terms like "responsibility" or "liability." But is it a word that describes your role, and if so, is that a good thing?

Nearly four in 10 (38%) of the chief financial officers (CFO) in a recent survey said their firms expected to add 401(k) automatic enrollment programs as a result of the recently enacted Pension Protection Act (PPA).

A survey conducted by Towers Perrin immediately following President Bush's signing of the Pension Protection Act (PPA) found more employers are likely to maintain their defined benefit pension plans than freeze them in response to the Act's more stringent funding requirements.

A recent study, "Spending and Investing in Retirement" by LIMRA and the Society of Actuaries offers insight into how people determine they are ready to retire and how they are faring in retirement.

A new survey finds that retirees are most concerned about the impact of the investment markets and an unexpected medical issue on their post-career standard of living.

Most employers (80%) consider the company-sponsored defined contribution retirement plan to be the primary vehicle for their employees' retirement income, but almost half (43%) are concerned that their employees are not saving enough for retirement, according to Wells Fargo's 2006 Best Practices in Retirement Plans Survey.

The National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) handed down a $4.3 million award to a former Wachovia Securities broker who was fired in 2003 amid the firestorm of market-timing allegations.

On September 26, US Department of Labor (DoL) officials released a proposed safe harbor rule covering retirement plan sponsors who have default investment options for employees entering plans via auto-enrollment or in situations in which individual account plan assets are invested on behalf of participants or beneficiaries who fail to give investment instructions.

ING Group has agreed to pay $33 million to settle lawsuits which allege it took fees in exchange for promoting particular funds in retirement plans and did not disclose those fees.

The US District Court for the Southern District of Ohio has approved an $11 million settlement for a class of former employees of Broadwing Inc., which sued the company for fiduciary breaches under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) relating to offering company stock as a retirement plan investment.

According to the IRS, one of the common retirement plan administration mistakes relates to plan loan failures and deemed distributions. Advisers can assist their clients in implementing administrative measures to ensure that participant loans from the plan are compliant with the plan document and any separate written loan policy adopted by the plan, which will can also help in monitoring loan payments to be sure they are made in a timely fashion.

Some equity fund offerings were comparatively hot in August as investors added a net $4.8 billion to US-based stock mutual funds, up from $738 million the month before, according to Investment Company Institute (ICI) data.

Developed world equity markets gained 1.12% in September 2006, while emerging markets rose 0.38%, according to Standard & Poor's World by Numbers report.

The latest Standard & Poor's Indices Versus Active Funds Scorecard (SPIVA) results revealed the S&P 500 outperformed 80.3% of actively managed large-cap funds during the third quarter of 2006.

401kDIRECT Network (401kDIRECT, 401kTechTeam, & Pension Retirement Online) has introduced a "TOTAL Solutions Package" that will be available to qualified plans via the Plan's 401k Professional, whether it is a Broker, RIA, TPA, CPA, Benefit Consultant, etc. The package includes PlanTool's Risk Management System, the Retirement Analyst Participant Advice and Fiduciary Reporting Program, ICC Super Statements, plus ETFs that are sub-advised by portfolio strategist Barclays Global Investors (BGI), State Street Global, and other ETF Managers.