Diversions November 4, 2010

The Many Accomplishments of Zenyatta

Talk about lofty retirement goals: this Saturday, Zenyatta, a six-year-old female thoroughbred, hopes to break a record and end her career undefeated.   
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If she wins Saturday, in her last race before retirement, she will have won all 20 races she ever raced in.   

The storyline is perfect for a horse who calls Hollywood home.  Zenyatta, the star attraction at the Breeder’s Cup Classic at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky this weekend, is highly favored to win and will break two records if she does: she will be the first American-bred horse to win 20 consecutive races and the first to retire undefeated.   

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Zenyatta won last year’s Breeder’s Cup, becoming the first mare to ever do so.  Her main competitor at last year’s race, Gio Ponti, will be back for another shot this year.   The competition will also include Quality Road, Blame, and Lookin at Lucky – however, these three horses have never won a 1¼ mile race before, and the three times Gio Ponti has won a race of this distance, it has been on turf.  Saturday’s race is on dirt.   

Her chances are so good, in fact, that the man in charge of organizing the odds at Churchill Downs, Mike Battaglia, made Zenyatta the 8-5 favorite (meaning that for every $1 bet on Zenyatta, $1.60 will be won).

But perhaps the reason why she has so many adoring fans is not just because betting in her favor has never failed them, but because Zenyatta adores the crowds.  Before every race, according to 60 Minutes, she prances and dances while being led to the gate.  Her trainer, John Shireffs, notices this too.  He told 60 Minutes’ Bob Simon that before every race, he can see how she puffs herself up, her eyes widen, she’s looking around the crowd and soaking in their energy.  Zenyatta’s and the crowds’ excitement feed off each other.

However, Zenyatta is more than just an undefeated horse, says her Hall of Fame jockey, Mike Smith.  Smith has ridden horses to victory in nearly 5,000 races and was also interviewed in the 60 Minutes piece.  He said–to several sports commentators’ amazement–that Zenyatta might very well be the best racing horse to ever live–including Secretariat (commonly thought of as the best racing horse of all time).  He said if she wins on Saturday, and he believes she will, she will have a perfect record, and “how can you argue with perfection?”  A relatively impenetrable argument–and all eyes will be expecting perfection come Saturday.   

Data & Research November 3, 2010

Many Americans Abandon Assets in Old 401(k)s

Nearly 30% of respondents indicated they failed to rollover their retirement savings into an IRA or new 401(k) because they are unsure about the rollover process according to a survey commissioned by ING DIRECT USA's ShareBuilder.
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Respondents were also unsure where to put their money, don’t have the time to roll their retirement money over, or have simply forgotten about their account.  Of these, nearly one in five (18%) have left $50,000 or more in old employee retirement accounts, according to a press release. Nineteen percent have between $25,000 and $100,000 sitting in retirement accounts left at previous employers.     

Twenty-two percent of younger Americans (ages 18-34) with a 401(k) or equivalent account at a previous employer that they have not rolled over are “not sure how to transfer or roll over” an old 401(k), compared to 10% of Americans ages 35-44. Ten percent of younger respondents said they have already forgotten about their old 401(k).   

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More than half (56%) of younger Americans who participated in a 401(k) or equivalent retirement plan at a previous employer have not rolled over any of their accounts, compared to 40% of Americans age 35-44.  

The announcement said nearly a quarter of Americans (24%) with old 401(k)s have between $10,000-$49,999 in these accounts, the survey indicated.  Eleven percent of Americans with 401(k)s they have not transferred, don’t know or can’t remember how much money they left in those old accounts.  Respondents closest to retirement (ages 55 and older) are leaving the largest amounts of money in previous 401(k)s, including 29% with $50,000 or more in these old accounts. 

Some respondents cited advantages to leaving their 401(k) assets with previous employers.  Two in 10 (21%) who maintain a 401(k) account at previous employers do so because they like the cost and/or performance of their investment, and another 12% prefer having their assets in a 401(k) rather than an IRA.   

The survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Interactive on behalf of ING DIRECT’s ShareBuilder from August 30 – September 1, 2010, among 2,207 adults ages 18 and older, 525 of whom have any retirement accounts from a previous employer that have not been rolled over.

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