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| State and Local Governments Increased Pension Contributions | |
| State and local governments increased their contributions to pensions in 2016 by 6.5%, or $8.5 billion, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s report, “The 2016 Annual Survey of Public Pensions.”Read more > | |
| Products, Deals and People | |
| Retirement Industry People Moves | |
| Guardian Financial Partners opens in Orange County; Transamerica names regional vice president for Retirement Plans; Josh Cohen will join PGIM as head of Institutional Defined Contribution; and more.Read more > | |
| Sponsored message from Natixis | |
| Retirement planning with a purpose More and more clients want their personal values reflected in their investment decisions. Natixis Sustainable Future Funds are the industry’s first ESG-driven target date funds. Help your clients look forward to the future with confidence. 1805387.1.1Read more > | |
| Economic Events | |
New orders for manufactured durable goods in April decreased $1.6 billion or 0.7% to $231.2 billion, the U.S. Census Bureau announced. This decrease, down following four consecutive monthly increases, followed a 2.3% March increase. Excluding transportation, new orders decreased 0.4%. Excluding defense, new orders decreased 0.8%. Transportation equipment, down following two consecutive monthly increases, led the decrease, declining $1.0 billion or 1.2% to $78.5 billion. THE ECONOMIC WEEK AHEAD: Today, the Conference Board will release its Consumer Confidence Index for May. Thursday, the Labor Department will issue its initial claims report, and the Census Bureau will report about construction spending in April. Friday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics will reveal the unemployment rate for May. | |
| Market Mirror | |
Friday, the Dow was down 2.67 points (0.01%) at 21,080.28, the NASDAQ was up 4.94 points (0.08%) at 6,210.19, and the S&P 500 was virtually unchanged at 2,415.82. The Russell 2000 decreased by 1.14 (0.08%) to finish at 1,382.24, and the Wilshire 5000 increased by 1.88 (0.01%) to finish at 25,107.11. The price of the 10-year Treasury note was up 3/32, decreasing its yield to 2.247%. The price of the 30-year Treasury bond increased 4/32, bringing its yield down to 2.914%. WEEK’S WORTH: For the week ending May 26, the Dow increased 1.32%, the NASDAQ climbed 2.08%, and the S&P 500 gained 1.43%. The Russell 2000 was up 1.09%, and the Wilshire 5000 finished 1.39% higher. | |
| Investing | |
| Understanding Mutual Fund Share Classes | |
| When it comes to selecting mutual funds for a defined contribution (DC) plan’s investment menu, plan sponsors can encounter an alphabet soup of different share classes with varying fee structures sprinkled in—and that’s ultimately what sets them apart. The fee structure may be different across a fund’s share classes, but participants investing into the same fund will be investing into the same asset-class mix with the same underlining securities. So to avoid confusion, it’s important to understand the basics.Read more > | |
| Small Talk | |
| ON THIS DATE: In 1539, Hernando de Soto, the Spanish explorer, landed in Florida with 600 soldiers to search for gold. In 1783, the first daily newspaper was published in the U.S. by Benjamin Towner called “The Pennsylvania Evening Post.” In 1854, the U.S. territories of Nebraska and Kansas were established. In 1868, Memorial Day was observed widely for the first time in the U.S. In 1879, William Vanderbilt renamed New York City’s Gilmore’s Garden to Madison Square Garden. In 1922, the Lincoln Memorial was dedicated in Washington, D.C. In 1958, unidentified soldiers killed in World War II and the Korean conflicts were buried at Arlington National Cemetery. In 1971, Mariner 9, the American deep space probe blasted off on a journey to Mars. In 2002, in New York, a ceremony was held to officially mark the end of the clean-up from the World Trade Center terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. In 2012, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced the Portion Cap Rule. The proposed amendment to the city health code would have required that food service establishments limit the size of sugary beverages to 16 ounces. Later, the New York Court of Appeals ruled that the New York City Board of Health had exceeded the scope of its regulatory authority. | |
| SURVEY SAYS RESPONSES: Last week, I asked NewsDash readers, “Does your company offer perks for the summer months, and which perk would you most value?” Nearly four in ten (39.6%) of responding readers indicated their company offers no summer perks. More than one-third (35.4%) said their company holds a picnic or other social event. A relaxed dress code was selected by 18.7% of respondents, shorter hours on Fridays was chosen by 14.6%, and flexible work schedules was selected by 12.5%. Asked which summer perk they would MOST value, more than half (57.4%) said shorter hours on Fridays; 17% said flexible work schedules, 10.6% chose more ability to work from home, and 2.1% each selected “a relaxed dress code” and “free drinks.” In verbatim comments, some lucky readers said they get some of these perks year-round. A couple noted that short staff and workload may make perks harder for employees—especially in the benefits world, one said. One reader suggested bringing pets to work as a perk and another said picnics and social activities would be helpful in winter months when everyone is “stir crazy.” Editor’s Choice goes to the reader who said: “I would institute a Happy Hour. No, not that kind, but one in which grumps n’ witches served less whine.” Thanks to all who participated in the survey!Read more > | |
| Share the 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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Editorial: Alison Cooke Mintzer alison.mintzer@strategic-i.com
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