| | Products, Deals and People | | Retirement Industry People Moves | | Voya Hires Two New Leaders; PCS Hires New Regional VP; and Segal Group Announces New Senior Vice President.Read more > | | | Special Coverage | | 10 Years Out from PPA, Advisers More Pivotal Than Ever | | At the time the Pension Protection Act (PPA) was passed, a fair number of advisers were asking whether certain aspects of the law could rob their business model of its traditional value. In fact, for many of them, it did. Put simply, advisers were used to devoting a lot of time and resources into building investment menus, or convincing would-be participants to start investing, and then training them about the basics of risk mitigation and asset allocation—and overnight, PPA allowed much of this work to be wholly automated by recordkeepers and third-party administrators. Advisers are still critically important to the success of retirement plans, but there is no denying they are engaged in different work than they used to do.Read more > | | See more of our PPA 10th anniversary coverage on our dedicated microsite.Read more > | | | Economic Events | | THE ECONOMIC WEEK AHEAD: Tomorrow, the Census Bureau will report about new home sales in July. Wednesday, the National Association of Realtors will report about existing home sales in July. Thursday, the Labor Department will issue its initial claims report, and the Census Bureau will report about durable goods sales for July. | | | Market Mirror | Friday, the Dow closed 45.13 points (0.24%) lower at 18,552.57, the NASDAQ decreased by 1.77 (0.03%) to 5,238.38, and the S&P 500 slipped 3.15 points (0.14%) to 2,183.87. The Russell 2000 was virtually unchanged at 1,236.76, and the Wilshire 5000 was down 34.52 points (0.15%) at 22,665.28.
On the NYSE, 3 billion shares traded, with 3 declining issues for every 2 advancing issues. On the NASDAQ, 2.7 billion shares changed hands, with a slight lead for decliners.
The price of the 10-year Treasury note decreased 14/32, bringing its yield up to 1.582%. The price of the 30-year Treasury bond fell 20/32, increasing its yield to 2.289%.
WEEK’S WORTH: For the week ending August 19, the Dow decreased 0.13%, the NASDAQ increased 0.10%, and the S&P 500 was down 0.01%. The Russell 2000 gained 0.57%, and the Wilshire 5000 was up 0.03%. | | | Compliance | | Law Firm Files Four More Lawsuits Against University 403(b) Plans | | The law firm of Schlichter, Bogard & Denton has filed four more lawsuits against major universities for excessive fees in its 403(b) plans. Cornell University, Columbia University, Northwestern University and the University of Southern California are the latest targets. This is the second lawsuit filed this week against Columbia University, as another law firm filed a complaint with similar allegations.Read more > | | Morgan Stanley Facing Excessive-Fee, Self-Dealing Lawsuit | | The lawsuit claims the investment manager selected and retained relatively high-cost and poor-performing investment options for its 401(k) plan, some of which were managed for profit by Morgan Stanley.Read more > | | | Small Talk | | ON THIS DATE: In 1775, the American colonies were proclaimed to be in a state of open rebellion by England’s King George III. In 1846, the U.S. annexed New Mexico. In 1865, a patent for liquid soap was issued to William Sheppard. In 1902, in Hartford, Connecticut, U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt became the first president of the United States to ride in an automobile. In 1906, the Victor Talking Machine Company of Camden, New Jersey, began to manufacture the Victrola. The hand-cranked unit, with horn cabinet, sold for $200. In 1950, Althea Gibson became the first black tennis player to be accepted into a national competition. In 1984, the last Volkswagen Rabbit rolled off the assembly line in New Stanton, Pennsylvania. In 1989, Nolan Ryan became the first major league pitcher to strike out 5000 batters. In 1996, U.S. President Clinton signed legislation that ended guaranteed cash payments to the poor and demanded work from recipients. | | SURVEY SAYS RESPONSES: Last week, I asked NewsDash readers, “Whether you have a pet or not, does your company offer pet insurance as a benefit, and if you do have a pet or pets, do you have health insurance on your pet(s) either through your employer or from a provider?” Twenty-one percent of responding readers said their companies offer pet insurance as an employee benefit, while 79% said they do not. The majority (80.3%) of respondents do not have health insurance on their pet(s), but 9.2% do, and 10.5% do not have a pet. Verbatim comments about health insurance for pets offered some clues as to why so many respondents do not have pet insurance: many said the coverage did not justify the expense and a couple noted that if your pet has a pre-existing condition, it is not covered at all. However, a few readers told tales of how a pet’s health situation cost them greatly and said insurance would have helped. Editor’s Choice goes to the reader who said: “The last thing I want to do is deal with another insurance company.” Thanks to everyone who participated in the survey!Read more > | | Share the good news with a friend! Pass the NewsDash along—and tell your friends/associates they can sign up for their own copy.Read more > |
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