| Competing for Advisers With Tools and Services: Retirement Industry M&A Activity |
| Pressing industry trends and emerging opportunities are reflected in recent merger and acquisition activity among retirement plan advisers and service providers, and in the efforts of other firms to restructure their basic approach to sales and service; PLANADVISER hears from Fi360, AssetMark, Cetera Financial and others about their visions for the future.
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| 401(k) Participant Mutual Fund Expense Ratios Declined Substantially Since 2000 |
| The downward trend in the expense ratios that 401(k) plan participants incur for investing in mutual funds continued in 2017, according to Investment Company Institute data. ICI also found 401(k) plan participants investing in mutual funds tend to hold lower-cost funds.
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| 2018 PLANADVISER DCIO Survey |
| Now in its seventh year of publication, the PLANADVISER Defined Contribution Investment Only Survey shows a continued upward trend—albeit at a much slower pace than in previous years—for DCIO assets among the survey’s 42 participating providers. While not representative of this entire market, the survey can be seen as a proxy for the overall direction of DCIO asset levels and allocation.
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| A Mere 0.14% of DC Balances Were Traded in May |
| The Alight Solutions 401(k) Index shows that in May, a mere 0.14% of defined contribution plan balances were traded. On average, 0.014% of balances were traded each day. There were 13 days favoring fixed income, representing 59% of the trades, and nine days favoring equities, representing 41% of the trades. There was only one day when trades were above normal.
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| Few Advisers Plan for Succession |
| Advisers in a larger practice are more apt to have a formal plan, with 60% of those in firms with $500 million or more in assets under administration having one. In firms with less than $50 million, just 13% have one. Succession planning also tends to focus more on the value of the business than the transition of the business.
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