Products January 11, 2011

Principal Shares 2010 Best Practices Practices Guide

When the going gets tough, the best employers stand by their employees – and they’re willing to share how.

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Today the Principal Financial Group released a “best practices” guide drawn from the experiences and practices of the Principal 10 Best Companies (see Principal 10 Best Stand Firm on Benefit Commitment).

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Titled “Standing by Employees during Tough Times,” the guide includes a benchmarking chart of the benefits that contribute to employee financial security by the 2010 “10 Best” compared with national averages, as well as tips for maintaining benefits, case studies, and checklists that can help employers fine-tune their benefits programs.

And, for the first time, this year the guide also showcases how the winners work with financial professionals to design, manage and maximize their benefit investments.

The guide is available at no charge at http://www.principal.com/bestguide

The Principal 10 Best Companies is a national program that recognizes small- and medium-sized companies that excel at giving their employees a financial edge. Entries for the 2010 recognition will be accepted beginning February 1, 2011. For more information, visit http://www.principal.com/10best.

Products January 10, 2011

SEI Partnership Bolsters Shariah Lineup

SEI has partnered with Allfunds Bank to offer a greater choice of investment solutions for Shariah investors in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

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PLANADVISER staff

The agreement brings together SEI’s Shariah asset management capabilities and Allfunds’ platform and intermediary services to give banks, wealth managers, and insurance providers the opportunity to access Shariah-compliant funds and deliver more efficient and diversified investment choices, according to a news release.

Launched in May 2007, the SEI Islamic Investment Funds provide investors with a Shariah-compliant program of four global equity funds with oversight from HSBC Amanah’s Shariah Committee, the announcement said.

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These funds include the SEI Islamic US Equity, SEI Islamic Pacific Basin Equity, SEI Islamic European Equity, and SEI Islamic Emerging Markets Equity Funds. The funds use SEI’s Manager-of-Managers process to select, combine, and monitor investment managers. The SEI Islamic Investment Funds are based in Dublin and offer daily liquidity.