FINRA issued a regulatory notice Dec. 30 “reminding firms of their responsibilities” when recommending a rollover or transfer of assets from an employer-sponsored plan into an IRA. Regulatory Notice 13-45 also addresses marketing IRAs.   Read More

Following a year in which sales were flat, 2014 could be a big year for variable and indexed annuities in terms of sales and product development, according to an InvestmentNews report. “The tail winds are with variable annuities because of the shift in [capital gains] tax rates,” says one analyst.   Read More

Efforts by states and municipalities to address the crisis in public pension plans was judged the biggest story of the year by our friends at Pensions&Investments, edging out “dysfunction in Washington” and Detroit’s ongoing bankruptcy saga. Rounding out PI’s top 10 stories of the year:   Read More

Most lists of New Year’s resolutions are superficial and dwell on the negative, like losing weight or joining a gym. We found an anonymous list we thought was interesting and unique.   Read More

With the help of Wilmington Trust, Fielding Miller and his team at CapTrust are launching their own collective funds. CapTrust bought Freedom One Financial Group last year and is essentially converting the money in their plans from risked-based asset allocation managed accounts to collective trusts (CIT’s).
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Last week’s top 5 most-read posts on NAPA Net reflected keen interest in Ted Benna’s perspective on improving DC plans, the San Jose judge’s ruling that city workers’ pensions may not be cut, the mutual fund complex monopolizing 98% of U.S. equity inflows, making the case for formal training for plan fiduciaries, and a look at “disclosure overload.”   Read More

Drawing on his team’s experience over the last year, Tom Daley, founder and chief executive of The Advisor Center, predicts four recruiting trends in 2014 — including recruiting bonuses and the continued growth of “superensembles.”   Read More

Bouyed by the post-crisis bull market, brand preference among advisors and some tweaks made along the way, things are starting to look up for American Funds, InvestmentNews reported recently.   Read More

With $18 billion in AUM and robust existing infrastructure including personnel, expertise and technology, Edelman Financial Services’ “Edelman Online” service has a leg up on the competition in the crowded online advice marketplace. Another key factor in their success: access to an advisor.   Read More

Look for your next issue of the Daily on Friday, Jan. 3. ‘Till then, we wish you a Happy New Year!   Read More

Financial advisors are upbeat as the new year draws near, expecting 2013’s bull market to continue in 2014. A huge proportion see good times ahead, according to a survey of 800 advisors conducted by the SEI Advisor Network.   Read More

This has proved to be a record-breaking year for pension risk transactions in the U.K., a development that some experts are viewing as the beginning of a trend.   Read More

Even though the voters of San Jose passed a referendum last June to allow the city to cut city workers’ pensions and health benefits, Santa Clara Superior Court Judge Patricia Lucas ruled that the referendum violates California law, finding that California law does not allow San Jose to make workers to pay an additional 16% or switch to a less generous plan.   Read More

Allianz Global Investors recently announced a new initiative, the PlanSuccess Recordkeeper Evaluation Program, that grades DC record keepers on their ability to upgrade plan design based on best practices gleaned from behavioral finance.   Read More

Target date funds have become especially popular with workers in their twenties, according to a recent report from the ICI and EBRI. Among younger workers, 52% are investing in TDFs, compared with just 34% of workers in their sixties and 41% overall.   Read More

While the DOL has not yet required plan fiduciaries to get formal training, it seems to be leaning strongly in that direction, according to the law firm of Bryan Cave. It certainly does make sense to question how people without the right training can govern and run a retirement plan under ERISA’s complex requirements — requirements that involve personal liability, including (and perhaps especially) for business owners.   Read More

Many of us view our role in the DC industry as a way of helping people while providing for ourselves and our families. In a profession that sometimes enjoys a less-than-stellar reputation, working with plan participants who may never speak to another advisor can be very rewarding — and a unique way for financial advisors to give back in the course of conducting their everyday work.   Read More

The distribution of possible events looks like a bell curve, with many everyday events in the middle and far fewer events in the tails. While these tail events occur infrequently, they can have a great impact on the overall financial system — both negative or positive.   Read More

As everyone in the retirement industry knows, retirement plan participants are inundated by a deluge of disclosures required by multiple reporting requirements set by a variety of government agencies. Posting recently about a Nov. 21, 2013, Government Accountability Office report on pension reporting and disclosure requirements, two attorneys at Bryan Cave summarized some of the things the GAO found.   Read More

The Principal Financial Group has streamlined the process of changing retirement plan providers with dedicated support — a single, secure storage location for documents and eSignature capabilities. It’s one of the first in the industry to make electronic signatures available for transition paperwork.   Read More