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Charles Schwab CEO Walter Bettinger has called for a transformation of the 401(k) industry by slashing fees and providing participants with objective and customized advice autonomous from the plan’s consultants. “It’s finally time to put the interests of the average hard working American first,”...
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The Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the official budget scorekeeper for Congress, released a paper Nov. 13 outlining various options for reducing the federal budget deficit over the next 10 years, including cuts in the tax incentives for retirement savings. Among the options the CBO proposes:...
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At a time when countless surveys point to the lack of retirement security and confidence among American workers, and anti-401(k) pundits claim that the 401(k) plan is a failed experiment, it’s refreshing to hear some good news. After all, there’s $11 trillion in DC and IRA assets — something must...
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As the end of the year approaches, there are important notices, deadlines and some changes that plan sponsors need to be aware of to keep their plans in compliance. As an advisor, you can rely solely on your record keeper and TPA to make sure all everything is being taken care of, but you should be...
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The Principal Financial Group introduced a retirement education program designed to encourage Hispanic employees to participate more in retirement plans. Research from The Principal shows Hispanic workers born outside of the United States have the lowest retirement plan participation rate of all...
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Speaking at SIFMA’s annual conference in New York City this week, SEC Chair Mary Jo White indicated that her agency is looking to increase exams of RIAs as much as possible, budget permitting. Currently, the SEC is only able to examine 8% of its 11,000 members, or fewer than 1,000 firms. FINRA, on...
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Last week’s top five most-read posts on NAPA Net reflected keen interest in the advantages of rollovers for advisor fiduciaries, signs you may be hiring the wrong person, DC plan fee best practices, the likelihood of advisor growth in the DC market, and survey results highlighting the impact of fee...
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Capitalized under $25 million, small businesses represent more than 99% of all companies in America — and yet nearly 72% of small business employees do not have access to a retirement plan. As these statistics illustrate, the small business community is underserved with respect to retirement...
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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 independent advisory group in Massachusetts is...
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As the world economy changes, so should the indices that track them, argues Capital Group. At this week’s Schwab Impact conference, Capital Group’s Rob Lovelace, grandson of the firm’s founder, will present a new global index based not on where a company is domiciled but where they earn their...
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Retirement plan advisors generally focus on, well, retirement plans. But even retirement plan advisors know that at certain times of the year, all that plan sponsors want to think about is health care. For both plan sponsors and workers, health care is a growing planning concern for their...
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We’ve just added a new section to NAPA Net devoted to NAPA Net the Magazine. In this new tab you’ll find information about the new magazine, which mailed to NAPA members last month. You can now download the entire 68-page premiere issue. You can also access a library of cover and feature stories,...
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Though we’re drawn to extroverted, charismatic leaders, without introverts, extroverts would have no one to lead, you might argue. But there’s also an argument to be made that introverts make better leaders, especially in times of chaos or when big breakthroughs are made. Witness Lincoln, Wozniak,...
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In the wake of the Detroit bankruptcy and allegations of mismanagement of the city’s pension funds, New York State financial regulators have issued subpoenas to 20 consultants and advisors to state pension funds. They are investigating the controls in place to prevent conflicts of interest as well...
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Members of NAPA have the opportunity to nominate an advisor to serve on the 2014 NAPA Leadership Council — but only through the middle of next month. Two voting advisor members and one firm partner representative will rotate off the Leadership Council in 2014. The Nominating Committee is accepting...
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Today there is a widely held belief that, given loose monetary policies and continuing high federal deficits, at some point the U.S. economy is likely to experience hyperinflation. Consider this Wall Street Journal article, for example. Despite a doomsday scenario of hyperinflation — which, no...
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Mutual fund companies used to be able to get flow primarily by being on the select list at a few wire houses and broker dealers. Marketing was an afterthought. That thinking may be changing, especially when it comes to online advertising. With marketing budgets flat for most firms, online...
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A concise yet complete white paper from Mercer reviews best practices for monitoring and negotiating DC plan fees. Recommendations include:• Administrative fees should be based on the number of participants with account balances in the plan. Asset-based fees can rise or fall independent of the...
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Morningstar has upgraded its ratings of Charles Schwab’s target date funds from “negative” to “neutral” due to improved performance. Senior mutual fund analyst Josh Charlson of Morningstar cites leadership changes and increased stability as drivers of the upgrade.The new rating is a stark contrast...
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An overwhelming majority of Americans believe that their retirement savings should be “off limits” to Congress and not part of any discussion about raising new revenue for the federal government, according to a new national survey released Nov. 7 by The Coalition to Protect Retirement. The survey...
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Having an effective investment committee has become virtually a must for all but the smallest DC plans. A paper from PlanPilot offers some tips on building and running one:• Size — smaller is better; try to have an odd number of members.• Diversity — along with different functions within the...
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Jason Fried, co-founder of 37Signals and author of the brilliant book Rework, explains why face-to-face meetings to brainstorm ideas for the “next big thing” are overrated. It’s not about the “next big thing,” he says; it’s about implementing or improving what you came up with 6 months or 6 years...
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Bank of America is moving its $19 billion 401(k) plan to its own Bank of America Merrill Lynch institutional retirement platform early in 2015, six years after the bank bought Merrill Lynch. Bank of America's 401(k) plan, which serves more than 300,000 participants, is currently managed by Fidelity...
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In their ninth annual study of the DCIO market, the research firm Hearts and Wallets found that while the market grew overall, more than one-third experienced net DC outflows. The DCIO market grew from $2.7 trillion to $2.9 trillion in one year, and is projected to increase to $3.6 trillion in 2018...
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