Products December 7, 2009

NextStep Adds vWise Education Video to Platform

NextStep Defined Contribution, Inc., has agreed to add the SmartPlan Enterprise interactive-video retirement planning system from vWise, Inc., to the NextStep participant education offering.

Reported by

A news release said the vWise SmartPlan Enterprise participant environment features a brief video overview of 401(k) basics, followed by a discussion of selected features, such as auto-enrollment, matching contributions, and loans.

Then, using interactive forms, the video hosts guide participants through a short process, including individual retirement needs and risk profile surveys, and selection of investment types and contribution amounts that generates a personalized investor profile, the news release said.

The SmartPlan Enterprise system also includes an administration portal that provides a suite of tools in a menu-driven format.

“We believe interactive video Web sites offer a significant improvement in remote participant communications, and the SmartPlan Enterprise system will be significantly more effective—and efficient—at driving participant behavior than a text-based Web site,” noted Jerry Bramlett, president and CEO of NextStep.

NextStep, based in the San Francisco area, is an independent provider of recordkeeping and administration services for 401(k) and other defined contribution plans.

More information is available at www.nextstepdc.com.

More information about vWise is at available at www.vwise.com.

For more stories like this, sign up for the PLANADVISERdash daily newsletter.

Products December 7, 2009

SSgA Introduces Community Investing Index Strategy

State Street Global Advisors (SSgA) has launched its US Community Investing Index strategy.

Reported by

The company said the strategy is the only offering that seeks to match the returns and characteristics of the U.S. Community Investing Index (USCII).

According to a press release, the underlying investment approach for SSgA’s U.S. Community Investing Index strategy is to buy and hold securities with the aim to minimize turnover and transaction costs, trading only when the composition of the index changes or when cash flow activity occurs in the strategy.

Launched in 2005 by the F.B. Heron Foundation in collaboration with Innovest Strategic Value Advisors, the U.S. Community Investing Index is composed of more than 300 large- and mid-cap companies spanning all sectors that have demonstrated successful and proactive engagement with economically underserved populations in rural and urban communities in the United States.

The USCII employs a methodology that positively evaluates the community investment and engagement performance of a broad universe of companies, using three main factors: strategic alignment, workforce development and wealth creation, and community engagement and corporate philanthropy, the announcement said.

“By positively screening for companies with strong track records in community investing, the U.S. Community Investing Index can be considered part of the second generation of the evolution of environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing,” said Luther M. Ragin, Jr., chief investment officer, the F.B. Heron Foundation.

«