| Benefits & Administration | U.S. Slips in Mercer’s Retirement Rankings | Global retirement readiness rankings are
inherently subjective and often controversial, but Mercer says the U.S. is
clearly slipping compared with some other developed nations—from 13th to 14th
for the United States in the firm’s 2015 global retirement ranking. Mercer says
the drop reflects a continuation of trends from the 2013 ranking.Read more > | A New Player in the Retirement Industry | Thinking the retirement industry has failed to
deliver on its goals, state governments are trying to get into the retirement
business. “Our issues are becoming more political,” Brian H. Graff, Esq.,
executive director and CEO of the American Retirement Association, told
attendees of the 2015 ASPPA annual conference. “The government finally gets it
that retirement plans are important, but now it’s not sure we are the best to
deliver those plans,” Graff told retirement plan advisers and service
providers. Graff and Judy A. Miller, executive director of the ASPPA college of
pension actuaries and director of retirement policy at the American Retirement
Association, discussed issues with states entering the retirement business.Read more > |
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| Market Mirror | Major U.S.
stock indices ended mostly flat yesterday. The Dow increased 14.57 points
(0.08%) to 17,230.54, the NASDAQ closed 18.78 points (0.38%) higher at
4,905.47, and the S&P 500 added slightly more than half a point (0.03%) to
finish at 2,033.66. The Russell 2000 slipped a little more than one point
(0.09%) to 1,164.29, and the Wilshire 5000 inched up 5.45 points (0.03%) to
21,285.83.
On the NYSE,
3.2 billion shares changed hands, with a slight lead for decliners. On the
NASDAQ, 2.7 billion shares traded, with an even split between advancing and
declining issues.
The price of the 10-year Treasury note increased 5/32,
bringing its yield down to 2.019%. The price of the 30-year Treasury bond was
up 3/32, decreasing its yield to 2.880%.
| | Sponsored message from BlackRock | Multi-Manager Fixed Income: The Way Forward? Interest rates are not the only challenge facing bond funds. Can a multi-manager approach better position DC plans To navigate the uncertain fixed income environment?Read more > | | Compliance | Perez Speech Hints at Fiduciary Flexibility | There is very little doubt remaining that the
Department of Labor will stand firm on issuing a revised fiduciary rule under
the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), but comments made late
last week by Labor Secretary Thomas Perez suggest additional revisions to the
controversial proposal are still possible—even likely.Read more > | | From the Magazine | Insights: Where They Are | After the passage of the Pension Protection Act
of 2006 (PPA), there were often comments about how automatic enrollment,
automatic escalation and qualified default investment alternatives (QDIAs)
would eliminate the need to engage participants. In some ways, you can
understand why that thought might be there—after all, the whole point of such
“auto” programs is to take advantage of participant inertia. If participants
were too disengaged to elect to enroll in the plan, why try to engage them
afterwards?Read more > | | Investing | TDFs Going Global | Target-date funds (TDFs) have quickly become a
favorite default option within retirement plans. While the overall split among
stocks and bonds within a TDF series, the glide path, is a primary driver of
results and therefore participant outcomes, what those asset classes are
composed of can also impact results and is worthy of consideration, according
to a white paper by Portfolio Evaluations Inc. As a number of TDF providers
have announced changes to their TDFs’ international stock and bond exposures,
it is important for plan sponsors to understand the implications of those
changes and how their plan’s TDFs may be affected, says Kathryn Spica, senior
investment analyst at Portfolio Evaluations and author of the paper.Read more > | | Small Talk | ON
THIS DATE: In 1803,
the U.S. Senate approved the Louisiana Purchase. In 1930, “The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes” debuted on NBC
radio. In 1947, Hollywood came under
scrutiny as the House Un-American Activities Committee opened hearings into
alleged Communist influence within the motion picture industry. In 1979, the John F. Kennedy Library in
Boston was dedicated. In 1994, the
website WhiteHouse.gov was launched. In 2003,
a 40-year-old man went over Niagara Falls without safety devices and survived.
He was charged with illegally performing a stunt.
TUESDAY
TRIVIA:
Sorry, not this week.
TRIVIAL
PURSUITS: Sorry, not this week.
| 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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