Our industry has long maintained that a greater focus is needed on decumulation — the process/pattern for drawing down the retirement savings that the traditional focus on accumulation has nurtured.   Arguably, a variety of annuity or annuity-type products already exists, some of which are... READ MORE

Congress is heading out of town, but that hasn’t stopped a consortium of unions and consumer groups from sending a “Dear Member of Congress” letter lending their support to the Department of Labor’s revision of the fiduciary rule. The letter, which basically restates the position already... READ MORE

Forrester Research has picked Wealthfront as the strongest and most likely to succeed among the current crop of emerging and growing robo-advisors. While it only has $1.42 billion of AUM, that has been accumulated in less than three years — and they do get a decent fee at 25 BPs.  Forrester... READ MORE

Washington has been training its eye on fees and transparency for years now. But so is the industry. The North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) is the latest organization to convene a group trying to make sure broker dealers are giving investors fee disclosures they can... READ MORE

Much is said and written about the demise of DB plans, but a recent House subcommittee hearing was focused on ways to help sustain the programs still in place. The hearing — held Sept. 17 by the Select Revenue Measures Subcommittee of the House Committee on Ways & Means — was largely devoted to... READ MORE

In a thought-provoking paper covered in The Wall Street Journal, Wharton professor Adam Cobb reviews why larger companies abandoned DB plans and how it has affected them and their workforces. We all know that companies moved to DC plans to shift risks and costs to employees, but behind that... READ MORE

A new analysis by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) estimates that it would take an aggressive combination of assumptions to produce a $1 million IRA — and then notes that around 600,000 taxpayers had aggregate IRA balances exceeding that amount.  The GAO noted that, even “assuming... READ MORE

It’s only September, but the end of the 2014 plan year is fast approaching. That means more than compiling data for information reporting and preparing for the 2015 plan year — it also means providing notices to plan participants before New Year’s Eve. Prudential outlines the notices a plan... READ MORE

A newly released white paper from ShoeFitts Marketing shows financial services firms how to develop a social media policy, including comprehensive steps and strategies.  "Best Practices for Financial Services Firms: Rolling Out a Social Media Policy" explains general social media use and... READ MORE

With employer stock holding no longer “presumed” to be prudent, a federal appeals court has vacated the dismissal of a stock drop suit against Lehman Brothers, re-opening the case. Last week, Reuters reported that the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York vacated the October 2011... READ MORE

Lincoln Financial Distributors (LFD), the wholesale distribution business of Lincoln Financial Group, has added four people to its Retirement Plan Services intermediary sales force, bringing the team to 34-strong nationwide. Gina Balducci will cover the western San Francisco Bay Area and... READ MORE