FINANCE -
March 11, 2010
CT Sues Credit Rating Agencies for Misleading Investors
March 11, 2010 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal has filed suit against credit rating agencies Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s alleging they knowingly assigned "tainted" credit ratings to risky investments backed by sub-prime loans.
HR/BENEFITS -
March 11, 2010
UK Workers Rank Pension Top Benefit, but Worry It's not Enough
March 11, 2010 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – A survey of UK workers by the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) finds pensions remain the most important employee benefit on top of salary that an employer can offer.
RULES/REGS -
March 11, 2010
DoL Recovers More than $12M for CA Company ESOP Participants
March 11, 2010 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The U.S. Department of Labor has
obtained consent judgments providing for restitution of more than $12 million by
plan officials and service providers involved with the employee stock ownership
plan sponsored by The Employee Ownership Holding Co. of Stockton, California, and
Fife, Washington.
PEOPLE -
March 11, 2010
Proskauer Adds Expertise in Employment Litigation
March 11, 2010 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – International law firm Proskauer Rose LLP has announced that Nigel Telman, an experienced employment law litigator and counselor, has joined its Chicago office as a partner.
FINANCE -
March 11, 2010
Wisconsin Retirees Will See Payments Cut for a Second Year
March 11, 2010 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - For the second year in a row, the
Wisconsin Retirement System will reduce monthly payments to retirees invested
in the system's Core Fund annuity.
PRODUCTS -
March 11, 2010
SSgA Launches Russia ETF
March 11, 2010 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - State Street Global Advisors (SSgA), the investment management business of State Street Corporation, has announced that the SPDR S&P Russia ETF began trading on the NYSE Arca on March 11, 2010.
HR/BENEFITS -
March 11, 2010
Survey Finds CDHP Use Ticking Up
March 11, 2010 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Interest in consumer-directed health plans (CDHPs) continues to expand among employers and their workers, according to a survey conducted by Towers Watson and the National Business Group on Health.
PRODUCTS -
March 11, 2010
SunLife Offers Program Addressing Absenteeism
March 11, 2010 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – Sun Life Financial has launched a set of services to help employers evaluate and develop more effective attendance management programs.
HR/BENEFITS -
March 11, 2010
Companies Boosting Performance Measures for Incentive Programs
March 11, 2010 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - In response to the impact of the recession and ongoing legislative and regulatory focus on executive pay, companies are strengthening how their incentive compensation programs align with business strategies to reinforce payouts that are commensurate with performance, according to a new survey by Mercer.
MARKETS -
March 11, 2010
Bond Funds Still Winning as Investors Dive Back into Market
March 11 2010 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - U.S. mutual fund investors put an estimated $30 billion into stock and bond mutual funds in February, according to Strategic Insight, an Asset International Company.
RULES/REGS -
March 11, 2010
VA Lawmakers Approve Ban on Mandatory Health Coverage
March 11, 2010 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – Virginia's General Assembly has approved legislation banning mandated health insurance coverage.
PRODUCTS -
March 11, 2010
Targeted Communications Could Help Achieve Plan Results
March 11, 2010 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – A recent effort by Mercer and Synapses Inc., a provider of personalized 401(k) education, products, and services, indicates using targeted employee communications can achieve better plan results.
PRODUCTS -
March 11, 2010
RPAG Expands Scorecard System to Rank ETFs
March 11, 2010 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Retirement Plan Advisory Group (RPAG) has announced that its proprietary Scorecard System will now track, monitor, and rank more than 300 exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
FINANCE -
March 10, 2010
SEC Cautions on Phony Web Site Targeting Madoff Victims
March 10, 2010 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – As if the folks stung by Bernie Madoff didn’t have enough problems, looks like someone is hoping they’ll fall for another scam.
MARKETS -
March 10, 2010
Transferring Participants Have a Fixed Sense in February
March 10, 2010 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – For a change, 401(k) participants who realigned their balances didn’t seem to be tracking the market.
HR/BENEFITS -
March 10, 2010
DC Participants Sought More Risk in 2009
March 10, 2010 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – Throughout much of the 2009 market rally, activity as measured by fund flows within the Callan DC Index, was above average, as participants sought to increase their exposure to risky assets.
PRODUCTS -
March 11, 2010
Principal Gets DoL Certification
March 11, 2010 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The Department of Labor (DOL) has given its seal of approval to the Principal Financial Group for the creation and electronic submission of Form 5500.
RULES/REGS -
March 10, 2010
Senate Passes COBRA Subsidy Extension
March 10, 2010 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The U.S. Senate has approved legislation that would further extend COBRA health insurance premium subsidies, Business Insurance reports.
PRODUCTS -
March 10, 2010
Baden Expands Reach of its TPA Solutions
March 10, 2010 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Baden Retirement Plan Services (Baden), an Ascensus company, is rolling out its services nationally through Ascensus’ sales force of twelve Regional Vice Presidents (RVPs).
PRODUCTS -
March 10, 2010
Schwab Offers Roth IRA Conversion Resources
March 10, 2010 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Schwab is making additional resources and tools available to investors, independent investment adviser clients, and 401(k) plan participants designed to help navigate Roth IRA conversion decisions.