December 24th, 2020 Insight on Plan Design & Investment Strategy Every Weekday Investment Focus HSA Investment Options A valuable way to grow savings for health care expenses. Special Edition Editor’s Note Investment trends change, sometimes because of innovative ideas and sometimes because of what the market is doing. PLANSPONSOR magazine keeps you up to date on those trends. This edition of NewsDash offers a roundup of insights from 2020. Most Read Deals and People Ascensus Pens Deal for Vanguard’s Small Plan Recordkeeping Division Data and Research Saver’s Match Has Potential to Incentivize Retirement Savings for Lower-Income Americans Ask the Experts Can a Church Merge its 401(a) and 403(b) Plans? Economic Events Sales of new single-family houses in November were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 841,000, according to estimates released jointly by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. This is 11.0% below the revised October rate of 945,000, but is 20.8% above the November 2019 estimate of 696,000. New orders for manufactured durable goods in November increased $2.2 billion or 0.9% to $244.2 billion, the U.S. Census Bureau announced. This increase, up seven consecutive months, followed a 1.8% October increase. Excluding transportation, new orders increased 0.4%. Excluding defense, new orders increased 0.7%. Transportation equipment, up six of the last seven months, led the increase, $1.5 billion or 1.9% to $78.8 billion. Market Mirror Wednesday, the Dow gained 114.32 points (0.38%) to finish at 30,129.83, the NASDAQ closed 36.80 points (0.29%) lower at 12,771.11, and the S&P 500 was up 2.75 points (0.07%) at 3,690.01. The Russell 2000 climbed 17.22 points (0.87%) to 2,007.10, and the Wilshire 5000 increased 38.05 points (0.10%) to 39,091.06. The price of the 10-year Treasury note was down 3/32, increasing its yield to 0.950%. The price of the 30-year Treasury bond decreased 29/32, bringing its yield up to 1.685%. Deals and People 2021 Plan Sponsor of the Year Nominations Are Open Nominations may be made by providers, advisers, consultants, actuaries, attorneys, third-party administrators (TPAs), employees and colleagues, or, you can even nominate yourself. Investment Focus Seize the Opportunity Adding ESG investments to the menu involves some analysis. It Takes Two Sponsors may offer an income product, but do participants understand and use it? A Time for Caution Stable value is a popular conservative option. Rethinking Fixed Income What are the options besides bonds? Everyone Has a Stake Company stock vs. ESOPs as a DC investment option. Small Talk ON THIS DATE: In 1814, the Treaty of Peace and Amity between His Britannic Majesty and the United States of America was signed by British and American representatives at Ghent, Belgium, ending the War of 1812. In 1851, a devastating fire at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., destroyed about two-thirds of its 55,000 volumes, including most of Thomas Jefferson’s personal library, sold to the institution in 1815. In 1943, President Franklin Roosevelt appointed Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower supreme commander of Allied forces as part of Operation Overlord. In 1968, three astronauts, James A. Lovell, William Anders and Frank Borman, reached the moon. They orbited the moon 10 times before coming back to Earth. In 1992, President George H.W. Bush pardoned former Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger and five others in the Iran-Contra scandal. Have a wonderful holiday weekend! NewsDash will be back in your inbox Monday. Did someone forward you this newsletter? Sign up here to get NEWSDash directly in your mailbox! Unsubscribe | Manage Subscriptions | Contact Us Copyright ©2024 Asset International, Inc. All rights reserved. No reproduction without prior authorization. Modern Slavery Statement 2022 | Do Not Sell My Personal Information | Privacy (including cookies), Social Media & Legal 702 King Farm Boulevard, Suite 400, Rockville, MD 20850