|
| Benefit Briefs |
| White Labeling DC Plan Investments May Offer Advantages |
| Among approximately 75 large employers, nearly
one-quarter (24%) are currently using a white label approach to naming defined
contribution (DC) plan investment options, Aon Hewitt finds. Nearly half (46%)
are using this approach for their entire fund lineup, while the remainder white
label only some of their funds. Rob Austin, director of Retirement Research at
Aon Hewitt, in Charlotte, North Carolina, tells PLANSPONSOR there are two main
strategies for white labeling. The first is to take a singular fund and make
the name generic. “For example, instead of listing the BlackRock U.S. Aggregate
Bond Index, the fund would be presented to participants as the U.S. Bond Index
fund,” he explains. This lets participants know the goals of fund and what it
invests in, but makes it simpler for participants, he says. The second strategy
is like a fund-of-funds approach, when a plan sponsor offers a single fund
option to participants called the Large-Cap Equity fund, for example, but
assets in the fund are directed to several underlying funds. |
| Executive Retirement Benefits Switched from DB to DC Too |
| As companies froze or closed their qualified
defined benefit (DB) plans, they often did the same with their DB plans for
executives. Towers Watson looked at Fortune 200 companies that froze or closed
their qualified DBs and found most companies switched from DB to defined
contribution (DC) nonqualified retirement benefits for newly hired executives,
and used the same transition approaches for both executive and qualified DB
plans. Most of the Fortune 200 companies that closed or froze their qualified
DB plans now provide DC-style retirement benefits to executives in the form of
restoration plans. |
|
| Buyer's Market |
| Safe harbor 401(k) plans require an initial plan
year at least three months long, making October 1 the effective deadline for
establishing a new safe harbor plan in 2014. ShareBuilder 401k, a subsidiary of
Capital One Financial Corporation, is marking the upcoming deadline with a
discount promotion for small business owners looking to establish a safe harbor
plan. The firm specializes in digitally enabled exchange-traded fund
(ETF)-based 401(k) plans. |
| Plan Strategies Introduces Portfolio Allocation Solutions |
| Retirement plan investment adviser Plan
Strategies Inc. (PSI) launched three portfolio allocation offerings. The
Allo(k)ation Plan simplifies asset allocation by offering five portfolio models
corresponding to varying levels of risk tolerance, which participants determine
by completing a questionnaire. The Allo(k)ation Plus Plan offers the same
models as the Allo(k)ation Plan with the addition of an individual core fund
lineup. PSI also offers the Tailored Solution for companies that want a more
customized plan. |
| Moira Hagy has joined Assurance Financial
Services’ retirement plan services team as a vice president. Hagy specializes
in helping retirement plan sponsors navigate the challenges inherent to their
fiduciary responsibilities, according to the firm. Specifically, she will
provide client support on plan fee and design benchmarking, investment
guidance, compliance, education strategies and overall plan sponsor best
practices. |
| Firms Unite Fiduciary Consulting Practices |
| PSA Insurance & Financial Services Inc. has established a strategic partnership with The PFE Group that unites the companies’ fiduciary consulting practices. The alliance merges two retirement plan consulting businesses to create a combined client portfolio of employer-sponsored retirement plans with assets exceeding $10 billion. Through the partnership, PFE and PSA’s Fiduciary Consulting Group (FCG) clients will gain access to expanded plan administration and support resources delivered with greater efficiency, according to the firms. |
| MassMutual has named Aruna Hobbs as head of institutional investments for retirement plans. The firm says Hobbs’ hiring is part of a strategy to more aggressively promote its mutual funds and stable value investments to retirement plan sponsors and their financial advisers. |
| John Krieg has been appointed global head of institutional distribution at Northern Trust Asset Management. This is a new role created to lead the development and implementation of investment solutions for clients spanning regions and markets. |
|
| Industry Voices |
| Industry Voice: Owning It and Moving Forward |
| Wouldn’t it be nice to know from what success will come, before it actually does? To know what products will thrive and thus what stocks to buy or which solution will solve a given problem, to appropriately focus our energy. Despite the best of information, however, we so seldom have this insight. Even those exceedingly talented futurists among us are actually quite challenged in this regard. |
|
| Economic Events |
| The U.S.
Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce announced that construction
spending during July was
estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $981.3 billion, 1.8% above the
revised June estimate of $963.7 billion. The July figure is 8.2% above the July
2013 estimate of $906.6 billion. During the first seven months of this year,
construction spending amounted to $535.4 billion, 7.9% above the $496.3 billion
for the same period in 2013. |
|
| Market Mirror |
| Yesterday, the Dow slipped 30.89 points
(0.18%) to 17,067.56, the NASDAQ was up 17.92 points (0.39%) at 4,598.19, and
the S&P 500 decreased by 1.09 (0.05%) to 2,002.28. The Russell 2000 climbed
5.12 points (0.44%) to 1,179.47, and the Wilshire 5000 closed 10.54 points
(0.05%) higher at 21,244.43.
On the NYSE, 3.2 billion shares traded,
with a slight lead for decliners. On the NASDAQ, 2.8 billion shares changed
hands, with 1.6 advancing issues for every declining issue.
The price of the 10-year Treasury note
was down 22/32, bringing its yield up to 2.424%. The price of the 30-year
Treasury bond fell 1 29/32, increasing its yield to 3.178%.
|
|
| Rules & Regulators |
| The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. (PBGC) will pay retirement benefits for workers covered by a plan sponsored by the Los Angeles Urban League Inc. The Los Angeles Urban League is a local chapter of the National Urban League, a nonprofit civil rights organization. The chapter ran a Head Start program, which provided early education for pre-kindergarten students, and the PBGC is stepping in because the organization is unable to fund the plan that covers Head Start employees. |
| IRS Announces Hot Topics Webinar |
| The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is holding a “Retirement Plan Hot Topics” webinar September 11. Topics will include the myRA program, individual retirement account (IRA) tax-free rollovers, the Windsor Supreme Court ruling, invalid Social Security numbers, Form 5500-EZ filing pitfalls and related relief programs, and tips for self-employed plan sponsors. |
|
| Sponsored message from MetLife |
| De-Risking Actions for Defined Benefit Pension
Plans
There are several actions
plan sponsors can take to de-risk their plans. View our short video to see how
these actions may help you.
|
|
| Small Talk |
| More than eight in 10 respondents to a survey by Accountemps (85%) said being courteous to coworkers has an impact on a person’s career prospects. However, 70% of workers think people become less courteous as they climb the corporate ladder. From a list provided, using a speakerphone or talking loudly on the phone ranked as the biggest breach of workplace etiquette when working in an open office space. |
| ON
THIS DATE: In
1777, the American flag was flown in
battle for the first time during a Revolutionary War skirmish at Cooch’s
Bridge, Delaware. Patriot General William Maxwell ordered the “Stars and
Stripes” banner raised as a detachment of his infantry and cavalry met an
advance guard of British and Hessian troops. In 1783, the American Revolution officially came to an end when
representatives of the United States, Great Britain, Spain and France signed
the Treaty of Paris. In 1954,
“The Lone Ranger” was heard on radio for the final time after 2,956
episodes over a period of 21 years. In 1966,
the television series “The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet” ended
after 14 years. In 1967, the TV game
show “What’s My Line?” broadcast its final episode. The show aired
over 17 years on CBS. In 1976, the
U.S. spacecraft Viking 2 landed on
Mars. The unmanned spacecraft took the first close-up, color photos of the
planet’s surface. |
| WEDNESDAY
WISDOM: “People
may hear your words, but they feel your attitude.”—John C. Maxwell,
author |
| 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
Copyright © Asset International, Inc.,
2014.
All rights reserved. No reproduction without prior authorization.
|
