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September 9, 2010 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – Morgan Stanley Smith Barney has appointed Managing Director James F. Walker to head the Consulting Services Group.

September 9, 2010 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - J.P. Morgan Funds has launched a new equities mutual fund, the JP Morgan Research Equity Long/Short Fund (A shares: JLSAX).

September 9, 2010 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – Although workers recently surveyed gave their bosses high marks in some areas, most picked Jacob from "Lost" as the TV boss most like their own because “you're never really sure where he is, what he wants and what he has in store for you.”

September 9, 2010 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America (Guardian) has unveiled the Life and Disability Insurance Explorer an online educational tool using four questions to help people settle on their workplace insurance coverage.

September 9, 2010 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – Some 72% of employers in a recent poll have adopted auto plan features, with 51% using auto enrollment and 71% deferring participants into a target-date fund.

September 9, 2010 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – A survey conducted by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) auditors finds the net impacts of key Affordable Care Act and other legislative provisions on total national health expenditures are moderate, but the underlying effects on payer spending levels and growth rates are much more pronounced.

September 9, 2010 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – Russell Investments announced three executive hires in its alternative investments area.

September 9, 2010 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Labor groups will be invited to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to talk about the shortfall in state employee pension plans that some believe could lead to a new government bailout.

September 9, 2010 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – The Hartford Mutual Funds has tapped Jeff Reiss as national sales manager.

September 9, 2010 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - John Hancock Financial Network (JHFN) has launched an effort to expand growth through its retirement planning platform and has hired industry veteran Bruce Harrington to lead the effort.

September 9, 2010 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Invesco PowerShares has entered into an agreement with Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, Inc. (KBW) for exclusive licensing to four indexes covering the financial services, REIT, and property & casualty insurance market sectors.

September 9, 2010 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – A federal appellate court has ruled that parties in Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) benefit plan suits have limits on their pre-trial discovery rights about plan administrators with conflicts of interest.

September 9, 2010 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – Vanguard has introduced eight new index mutual funds and nine new exchange-traded funds (ETFs) based on S&P domestic stock benchmarks.

September 9, 2010 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – The New Mexico State Investment Council has hired a Kansas pension fund official as the deputy state investment officer.

September 9, 2010 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – Hewitt Associates has added Thomson Reuters Micromedex, an “evidence-based reference information for drug, disease, toxicology and patient education” to its clinical advocacy services.

September 8, 2010 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Far more organizations provide defined contribution retirement plan participants with general educational materials about the plan and about investing than provide participants with individual investment advice, according to a poll by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM).

September 8, 2010 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - New research by Pyramis Global Advisors finds the financial crisis of 2008-2009 has refocused pension plans in North America, the U.K., and Northern Europe on defining and solving the risk management challenges they face in the decade ahead.

September 8, 2010 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – A new Mercer study found that 53% of employers surveyed predicted they will be able to keep grandfathered status for all their plans next year under the health reform law – 14% fewer than a government estimate.

September 8, 2010 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – Callan Associates reports that the Callan DC Index’s second-quarter performance was its worst since the fourth quarter of 2008.

September 8, 2010 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Diversified Investment Advisors, Inc. has launched “Your Money Matters” on Facebook to share and explore retirement and personal finance issues and trends with consumers.