This Week on NAPA Net

Highlights of our posts for the week of April 8 included: Reg/Leg • Brian Graff put President Obama’s retirement savings proposals in perspective. • Brad Campbell covered a wide range of issues that might affect plan advisors at the CUNA Mutual/CPI Retirement Academy in St. Louis on April 9. Service Providers ING  announced that it will rebrand to Voya in the next 20-24 months, taking it one one step closer to an IPO as opposed to a potential sale to a competitor. Plan Design • A white paper from T. Rowe Price shows how costs can be managed effectively when adopting various automatic (and other) plan features by altering plan design elements. • Advisors should help plan sponsors focus on controllable things with the biggest impact on retirement readiness, according to George Revoir of John Hancock’s retirement plan services unit. Plan Optimization • Speaking at this week’s CUNA Mutual/CPI event, Glenn Dial, head of Allianz’s DCIO team, highlighted questions plan advisors should be asking when evaluating TDFs. • Befi expert Richard Thaler offers a simple approach to helping plan participants who aren't saving enough for retirement. • Interest rates are bound to go up at some point. What happens to stable value accounts then? Practice Management/Sales • BrightScope is set to release a database that compares fees from RIA ADV forms available to the public on advisors’ websites. • NAPA Net Portal Conductor Marcus Chandler offers food for thought about whether cold calling is really dead. • In the wake of the financial crisis, investors are trusting financial advisors more than banks, insurance companies, investment firms and the government.