In Morningstar’s recent Rekenthaler Report, “Do Active Funds Have a Future,” John Rekenthaler considers the future of active management. His short answer: “Apparently not much.” Rekenthaler reports that net sales over the past 12 months for all exchange-traded funds, passive mutual funds... READ MORE

Participant inertia is a well-documented dynamic in 401(k) plans, but a new survey finds that more than one-third of Americans who contribute to an employer-sponsored retirement plan (36%) have never increased their contribution rate. The TIAA-CREF survey also notes that an additional 26... READ MORE

Fifty-five percent of Hispanic investors agree that “raising and investing in kids is the best retirement plan,” compared with 41% among U.S. investors overall, and a quarter (24%) expect to rely on family members to live and make ends meet in retirement, nearly twice as many as among U.S... READ MORE

According to a study by Judy Diamond Associates that analyzed the performance of DC plans, micro plans, or those with less than 10 participants, fared better than larger plans. Using a rating system that takes into account such factors as investment returns, participation rates,... READ MORE

LPL Financial has launched its new Worksite Financial Solutions website, developed primarily to increase plan participants’ confidence in their financial future. LPL’s objective with the website is to demystify retirement by offering plan participants education about their options through different... READ MORE

  Large plans outperformed small plans in the second quarter of 2014, propelling the median return for all institutional assets tracked by the Wilshire Trust Universe Comparison Service to 3.43%. As it had a quarter ago, corporate funds delivered the largest size spread in returns, with... READ MORE

Can dabblers survive in today's complicated DC world? While many experts think that advisors must specialize to do well in the 401(k) and related retirement plan markets, there’s a lot of evidence that many advisors with plans under management do not specialize, nor do they intend to. ... READ MORE

  A new Federal Reserve survey paints a bleak picture of America’s retirement future. The Report on the Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households notes that nearly a third (31%) of non-retired respondents reported having no retirement savings or pension, including 19% of those ages 55 to 64. ... READ MORE

The ERISA consultants at the Columbia Management Retirement Learning Center Resource Desk regularly receive calls from financial advisors on a broad array of technical topics related to IRAs and qualified retirement plans. A recent call with an advisor in Washington D.C. is representative of... READ MORE

Smartphone usage has — barely — surpassed that of the PC/Macs among defined contribution plan participants, according to a new study Spectrem’s Millionaire Corner conducted. Eight-in-ten DC plan participants report using a smartphone with Internet access and apps, which is slightly higher than the... READ MORE

While most participants never make investment changes in their 401(k) accounts, this July turns out to have been another quiet trading month, according to Aon Hewitt’s 401(k) Index. When trading occurred, plan participants favored equity funds over fixed income funds for 64% of the... READ MORE

In a scathing and far-reaching article, The New York Times outlined the real and difficult issues that New York City faces with its five pension funds. Unlike Detroit or New Jersey, which cannot afford to make big payments, New York City has been plagued by high fees, low returns, higher benefit... READ MORE