This Week on NAPA Net

Highlights of our posts for the week of March 18 included: Practice Management • The DOL recently levied a $1.266 million fine on an adviser providing fiduciary advice for a fee that also received 12b-1 fees from the mutual funds they recommended. • Online firms are the fastest-growing advisory channel, increasing AUM from $3.4 trillion in 2010 to $3.7 trillion in 2011. • Only 39% of advisors surveyed by Russell in their recently released quarterly report used investment policy statements for all their clients. Industry Trends • Retirement assets grew to almost $20 trillion by the end of 2012, up 8.6% for 2012 and 7.9% since the pre-recession high. • Forbes columnist Deborah Jacobs argues that Roth IRAs should be curbed because they give outsized value to the super-rich while costing the government billions in tax revenue. • Three more in-depth accounts of the most popular sessions at the 2013 NAPA/ASPPA 401(k) Summit, held earlier this month in Las Vegas, have been posted on ASPPA’s website. Plan Design • Does daily valuation in DC plans limit investment choices and thereby investment returns? • Will the recent deal to make 65 BlackRock ETFs available commission-free on Fidelity’s brokerage platform mean greater exposure for ETFs in 401(k) plans? • According to research by Aon Hewitt, about half of participants with account balances of less than $5,000 were forced out of their plans in 2011, up from just one-third of such participants in 2005. Public Pension Plans • What’s the active/passive mix of 10 of the largest pension funds in America? • Reports that CalPERS is considering going all-passive highlights the trend toward index funds in pension and retirement plans as well as among individual investors. • Keep an eye on a seminal trial brought by bond holders caught in the Stockton, CA Chapter 9 bankruptcy case who claim that retired workers should share the pain.