Franklin Templeton Investments launched its first hedge fund mutual fund Nov. 18. The Franklin K2 Alternative Strategies Fund uses a multi-strategy, hedge fund-of-funds structure, managed by Franklin Templeton subsidiary K2 Advisors.Included in K2's initial manager lineup are hedge fund managers... READ MORE

Though most plan advisors and sponsors rely on their providers and TPAs to help prepare for an audit, it’s good for advisors to understand the process and to help prepare clients. The accounting firm of DiCicco Gulman has created a succinct list of tips for plans and their advisors to follow when... READ MORE

There’s a myth among providers that plan advisors are making a lot of money (especially among those providers who want to become advisors). But the truth is that only a few are doing really well. How does the compensation of advisors compare to other professions? InvestmentNews and Moss Adams... READ MORE

Toni Brown and John Doyle have joined the Los Angeles-based money manager Capital Group as senior DC specialists — newly created positions at the firm — according to Mark Steburg, SVP of business development. Brown is based in San Francisco and will focus on the West Coast business, while Doyle... READ MORE

In a speech on the Senate floor on Monday, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) called for more generous CPI calculations to boost Social Security benefits. Warren's speech was reported here by Washington Post columnist Ezra Klein, who wrote that increases should be even larger. In addition to boosting... READ MORE

In a sense, many advisors work in a box — not knowing, for example, how well they are doing, especially when it comes to sales compared with their peers. If you sold five plans this quarter, is that good? Maybe that depends on the market segment or the type of advisor you are. Therefore, it seemed... READ MORE

How does your GPS work? Before offering any direction, it requires you do one simple thing: indicate your desired location. Effective social media participation and outreach, much like any sales or marketing effort, requires a similar approach: You must take time to create a clearly defined end... READ MORE

American Century Investments announced the launch of Plan Health Pro, a new tool aimed at helping retirement plan advisors and sponsors assess plan effectiveness for better participant outcomes. Plan Health Pro is an online resource designed to help determine overall retirement plan health. Using a... READ MORE

Just as individual investors have put more money into equities in anticipation of rising interest rates — dubbed “the great rotation” by Bank of America — pension funds and insurance companies are investing more heavily in fixed income to match future obligations. Pension plans increased their... READ MORE

Great-West Financial has appointed Andrew Gracan, an experienced sales leader, as regional sales director of national accounts for its Northeast market. Gracan is responsible for sales of 401(k) and 403(b) products to sponsors of large-market corporate and nonprofit organizations in Maine, Vermont... READ MORE

The 2014 NAPA 401(k) Summit will be a seminal event for a number of reasons, including the fact that it will be the first time that the Summit, launched by ASPPA, will be branded exclusively as a NAPA event. As advisors and event sponsors grow weary of the many industry events — with some... READ MORE

In last week’s Reader Poll we asked, "Which factor is most important in the selection of the DCIOs with which you have a relationship?" Here are the results of the voting, ranked and expressed in percentages:Breadth of investment solutions: 50%Quality of the wholesalers: 45%Provides leads: 5%Is... READ MORE