| | Buyer's Market | | Eagle Asset Management has initiated
distribution of collective investment trusts (CITs). Through its affiliate, San
Diego, California-based ClariVest Asset Management LLC, Eagle joins a number of
defined contribution investment only (DCIO) fund distributors in the
fast-growing CIT market. “If you are going to look for a lower-cost vehicle,
collective trust funds make a lot of sense,” says Ran Gimeno, senior vice
president and head of DCIO Sales at Eagle. | | Ascensus Launches Ascensus Consulting | | Retirement and college savings plan
administration services provider Ascensus launched Ascensus Consulting. Ascensus
Consulting is a national third‐party administrator (TPA) that services more
than 3,000 retirement plans in four locations and connects with clients
locally. It offers clients access to platform‐neutral
services through associates who are experts in defined contribution, defined
benefit, cash balance, and specialty product administration. | | The retirement solutions business of Voya
Financial (formerly ING U.S.) announced two additions to its Large Corporate
Market team. Peter Southard began his new position as a senior account executive,
National Accounts, on May 12. He will collaborate with new and existing clients
to provide solutions that address the complex needs for the nation’s largest
retirement plans. Ben Moy will join Voya as a client solutions lead, effective
May 19. He will be responsible for facilitating a streamlined customer
experience for existing and prospective clients. | | Invesco Slices Stable Value for Easy Comparison | | The SVAnalyzer was created to evaluate 10
critical factors that can make it difficult to compare one stable value
investment with another. Stable value investments have a few characteristics in
common, and quite a few that vary, depending on the provider and the underlying
investments, says Jeff Hemker, national sales director of retirement for
Invesco. “Stable value really is the man behind the curtain,” Hemker tells
PLANSPONSOR. The investment gives you a book rate of return, a stable rate of
return, but it’s not at all that simple behind the scenes. | | | Economic Events | | On a
seasonally adjusted basis, the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U)
increased 0.3% in April after rising 0.2% in March, according to the Bureau of
Labor Statistics. The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.2% in
April, the same increase as in March.
Real average
hourly earnings fell 0.3% in April, seasonally adjusted. Average hourly
earnings was unchanged and the CPI-U rose 0.3%. Real average weekly earnings
fell 0.3% over the month.
In the week
ending May 10, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims for
unemployment insurance was 297,000, a decrease of 24,000 from the previous
week’s revised level, the Labor Department reported. This is the lowest level
for initial claims since May 12, 2007 when they were 297,000. The previous
week’s level was revised up by 2,000 from 319,000 to 321, 000. The four-week
moving average was 323,250, a decrease of 2,000 from the previous week’s
revised average. The previous week’s average was revised up by 500 from 324,750
to 325,250.
The average interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate
mortgage is 4.20%, down from 4.21% one week ago, according to Freddie Mac. The
average interest rate for a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage is 3.29%, down from
3.32%.
| | | Market Mirror | | Major U.S. stock indices suffered losses
again Thursday, with the Dow finishing 167.16 points (1.01%) lower at
16,446.81. The NASDAQ decreased 31.33 points (0.76%) to 4,069.29, and the
S&P 500 fell 17.68 points (0.94%) to 1,870.85. The Russell 2000 was down
7.15 points (0.65%) at 1,095.99, and the Wilshire 5000 lost 177.53 points
(0.89%) to close at 19,789.38.
On the NYSE, 3.2 billion shares traded,
with 2.3 declining issues for every advancing issue. On the NASDAQ, 2.7 billion
shares changed hands, with a 2 to 1 lead for decliners.
The price of the 10-year Treasury note was up 13/32,
decreasing its yield to 2.497%. The price of the 30-year Treasury bond
increased 26/32, bringing its yield down to 3.333%.
| | | Rules & Regulators | | Warning to NQDC Plan Sponsors: The IRS May Be Coming | | The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has launched
an audit initiative aimed at compliance with the rules for nonqualified
deferred compensation plans under Code Section 409A. According to a Benefits
Brief from Groom Law Group, based in Washington, D.C., a series of audits of a
“limited scope” are underway. The IRS will assess what further steps, if any,
to take after the results of those audits are in. To prepare for a potential audit on Section
409A issues, the firm lists some key areas for nonqualified deferred
compensation plan sponsors to review. | | The Governmental Accounting Standards Board
(GASB) issued a proposed Statement about accounting and financial reporting
issues related to fair value measurements. The Exposure Draft, Fair Value Measurement
and Application, describes how fair value should be defined and measured, what
assets and liabilities should be measured at fair value, and what information
about fair value should be disclosed in the notes to the financial statements. “The
proposed changes to the GASB’s fair value standards are intended to increase
clarity, consistency, and comparability in governments’ fair value measurements
and their related disclosures,” says GASB Chairman David A. Vaudt. “The Board
believes that fair value measurements enhance the relevance of reported
financial information, particularly when accompanied by robust disclosures.” | | Defendants in One Church Plan Case Get a Victory | | The defendants in one of the church plan court
cases have had their status confirmed by a federal court. U.S. District Judge
Avern Cohn of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
found the retirement plans of Ascension Health Alliance entities qualify for
“church plan” status under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).
In contrast to two other rulings handed down so far among six cases, Cohn held
a plan need not be established by a church in order to qualify as a church
plan. Cohn addressed recent court rulings contrary to his. | | The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will hold a
free webinar about the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) fee
certain health care plan sponsors must pay. The webinar will cover what the
Patient Center Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) fee is, who is responsible
for the fee, and how to calculate, pay and report the fee. | | Study Suggests New Fiduciary Rule Will Hurt Plan Access | | The expansion of the fiduciary definition
proposed by the Department of Labor (DOL) could potentially impede the ability
of small businesses to offer employees retirement plans, says a new study. The
authors of the study say, “The DOL regulation is generally expected to prohibit
retirement plan providers and the advisers who sell retirement plans from
assisting employers in the selection and monitoring of funds in the retirement
plan. Instead, employers could either perform the functions themselves or hire
an independent expert to do it.” | | | Small Talk | | ON
THIS DATE: In
1849, the New York City Board of
Health established a hospital to deal with a cholera epidemic that, before it
ended, killed more than 5,000 people. In 1868,
the U.S. Senate voted against impeaching President Andrew Johnson and acquitted
him of committing “high crimes and misdemeanors.” The main issue in
Johnson’s trial was his staunch resistance to implementing Congress’ Civil War
Reconstruction policies. In 1918,
the United States Congress passed the Sedition Act, a piece of legislation
designed to protect America’s participation in World War I. The Sedition Act
imposed harsh penalties on anyone found guilty of making false statements that
interfered with the prosecution of the war; insulting or abusing the U.S.
government, the flag, the Constitution or the military; agitating against the
production of necessary war materials; or advocating, teaching or defending any
of these acts. In 1929, the Academy
of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences handed out its first awards, at a dinner
party for around 250 people held in the Blossom Room of the Roosevelt Hotel in
Hollywood, California. In 1964, Mary Wells gave Motown its first No. 1 hit when
“My Guy” reached the top of the Billboard
pop chart.
NOTE: Yesterday’s ON THIS DATE said “In 1942, gasoline rationing began in
17 Eastern states as an attempt to help the American war effort during World
War II. By the end of the year, President Franklin D. Roosevelt had ensured
that mandatory gasoline rationing was in effect in all 50 states.” The section
should have said “…in all states,” since there were not 50 states in 1942. We
apologize for the oversight.
And now it’s time for FRIDAY FILES!
| | Artist Wes Namam wraps people’s heads in Scotch
tape and takes pictures of them. | | In Frankfort, Kentucky, a
man’s lost phone was found! However, the individual who found it wrapped it in a
paper towel and left it on the cruiser of a School Resource Deputy. Unfortunate,
because the background picture on the phone was of the owner with about 20 to
25 pounds of mari.juana. Police tracked down the phone’s owner at his home.
“The individual gave consent to search the residence, and there was 18
pounds of mari.juana we were able to seize because of that,” Franklin
County Sheriff Pat Melton told ABC News. The phone’s owner was arrested.
In Salt Lake City, Utah,
while testifying against dairy farmers who claim currents from the Delta power
plant harm cattle, an expert witness said 1.5 volts couldn’t be felt by a
person. The Salt Lake Tribune reports the attorney representing dairy farmers
gave a child’s gag pen to the witness, told him it contained a 1.5-volt AAA
battery and challenged him to push it. The witness received a strong electric
shock, but the judge in the case says it was because the pen also contained a
transformer that boosted the battery up to 750 volts. The attorney was fined
$3,000 for battery of a witness.
| | In North
Royalton, Ohio, a teenager caught a three-foot carp on a flooded street. | | In Wroclaw, Poland, a
104-year-old man has set a European record for the 100m, becoming the oldest
person to complete it. Stanisław Kowalski is eight years older than the
previous record holder and ran the distance more than a second faster, crossing
the line in 32.79 seconds. He claims he is in such good condition because he
never went to see the doctor and has done anything that pleased him, the Metro
reports.
In Greenville, South Carolina,
a 26-year-old man found an old supposedly bullet-proof vest, put it on and
asked an 18-year-old friend to shoot him. The 18-year-old fired a single round
from a small-caliber handg.un with what can best be described as a “predictable
result.”
| | Trivia you may not know about social media sites
(warning: one slide has a curse word on it). | | In Broome County, Pennsylvania,
a woman arrived at the jail and told officers she was there to pick up a friend
being released from jail. But, corrections officers detected signs she was into.xicated,
police said. Minutes later, a deputy found the woman in the parking lot, and
she failed sobriety tests. Her driver’s license was also suspended, police
said. She was charged with aggravated unlicensed operation, driving while into.xicated,
and refusal to take a breath test, and was booked into the very jail from which
her friend was released.
In Treorchy, Wales, a man went to a Barclays
Bank branch and gave a teller his change of address. Thirty minutes later, he
came back wearing a jacket with his hood up, socks over his shoes and
sunglasses, rushed up to the glass partition and demanded money. A teller said
she could see he was holding a bread knife across his body as he demanded all
the cash. According to Wales Online she raised the alarm by pressing the panic
button as she tried to keep the situation calm, and when the man heard they
planned to lock the doors, he left. The news report said he left empty handed,
despite the fact an elderly customer standing next him offered him £20 to
leave. He was easily found since he had just been in the branch telling the
teller his name and new address. The man told police he had been inspired to
carry out the robbery after seeing the tills full of money on his earlier
visit.
Have a wonderful weekend! | | Share the good news with a friend! Pass the Dash along – and tell your
friends/associates they can sign up for their own copy. | | News from PLANSPONSOR.com
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