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| Compliance | |
| Cap on Savings Raises Industry Hackles | |
| Several advocacy organizations—ERIC, ICI and ASPPA—issued statements weighing in on President Obama’s proposed fiscal 2016 budget, with adjectives and comments like “misses the mark,” “wrongheaded” and “disappointing.” All expressed disapproval at the idea of limiting the amount savers can stash, pre-tax, in retirement accounts, a savings cap that resurfaces annually. Judy Miller, director of retirement policy for the American Society of Pension Professionals and Actuaries (ASPPA), maintains that some parts of the budget could expand retirement plan coverage, while others are likely to undermine them.Read more > | |
| From the Magazine | |
| Saxon Angle: Department of Labor Investigations | |
| With higher frequency than in the past, fiduciaries of plans covered by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) are receiving unexpected letters from the Department of Labor (DOL) giving notice of an investigation ‘‘to determine whether any person has violated or is about to violate’’ one of ERISA’s fiduciary responsibility provisions. This can be a scary moment for plan sponsors who believe they have done everything right, but also know that the statute provides a myriad of foot faults, any of which may lead to a violation. Understanding how these DOL investigations work, what to expect if you are targeted for one and the types of claims the department may assert can help smooth out the review process.Read more > | |
| Investing | |
| S&P Agrees to Compensate California Pension Funds | |
| Standard & Poor’s Financial Services (S&P) and its parent company, McGraw-Hill Financial Inc., agreed to resolve federal and state civil claims related to S&P’s conduct in inflating ratings of residential mortgage-backed securities and structured investment vehicle notes.The State of California, through Attorney General Kamala D. Harris’ office, will recover $210 million in damages, from which the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) and the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS) will receive allocations for their losses on investments of certain S&P-rated securities. Separately, S&P will also pay CalPERS $125 million to settle CalPERS’ specific lawsuit. Read more > | |
| Institutional asset owners had a sixth consecutive year of positive returns in 2014, gaining approximately 7% at the median for the year, according to Northern Trust Universe data. For the 12 months ended December 31, 2014, corporate Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) plans generally performed best among all plan types, with a median return of 8.5%. Public funds had a median return of 6.8% for the year, and foundation and endowment plans had a 5.9% median return for the year.Read more > | |
| Small Talk | |
| CareerBuilder’s annual survey about worker tardiness never fails to deliver some bizarre excuses. Car trunk thieves, gas station stick-ups and shower mishaps are the types of incidents some workers claim prevented them from getting to work on time last year, according to CareerBuilder. When asked how often they come in late to work, more than one in five workers (23%) admitted they do it at least once a month, and 14% say it’s a weekly occurrence for them. Of the workers who have admitted to being late for work in the past, 30% have lied about the reason for their tardiness.Read more > | |
| ON THIS DATE: In 1789, George Washington became the first and only president to be unanimously elected by the Electoral College. He repeated this notable feat on the same day in 1792. In 1824, J.W. Goodrich introduced rubber galoshes to the public. In 1861, in Montgomery, Alabama, delegates from South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia and Louisiana convened to establish the Confederate States of America. In 1932, the first Winter Olympics to be held in the United States opened at Lake Placid, New York. In 1938, Disney released “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.” In 1957, Smith-Corona Manufacturing Inc., of New York, began selling portable electric typewriters. The first machine weighed 19 pounds. In 1983, singer Karen Carpenter died, succumbing to heart failure brought on by her long, unpublicized struggle with anorexia. | |
| WEDNESDAY WISDOM: “If you fell down yesterday, stand up today.” —H.G. Wells, writer | |
| Share the good news with a friend! Pass the Dash along – and tell your friends/associates they can sign up for their own copy.Read more > | |
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Copyright © Asset International, Inc., 2015. All rights reserved. No reproduction without prior authorization. |
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Editorial: Alison Cooke Mintzer alison.mintzer@strategic-i.com
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