Speaking at an industry conference years ago, Schwab CEO Walt Bettinger — who grew up in the 401(k) world — noted that there are three types of 401(k) providers: market leaders, market followers and rule breakers. Clearly casting Schwab as a rule breaker, Jim McCool, Schwab’s COO (and Bettinger’s... READ MORE

As you may have heard, there’s an election coming up in about a month. In a video shot just before the first presidential debate, NAPA’s Executive Director and Washington insider Brian Graff explains his take on the presidential campaign as it enters the stretch run, the likely political balance in... READ MORE

A proposal by Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) to address what he calls the “retirement crisis” would shore up Social Security and also create a new retirement fund run by the government but funded privately. What appears to be a government-sponsored IRA intended to provide pension like lifetime income... READ MORE

Mitt Romney’s reference to the divide between the 47 percent of citizens who don’t pay income taxes and those who do may not be as important the pension divide, between those few who have a guaranteed cushion in the form of defined benefit pensions. How the candidates address this divide, cultural... READ MORE

For decades, the defined contribution industry has focused on the performance of individual funds at the expense of other plan metrics. In a recent white paper, W. Van Harlow, Director of Research, Putnam Institute, analyzes a series of variables — fund selection, asset allocation, portfolio... READ MORE

By Richard PhillipsThe metaphor of a design-focused 401(k) easily lends itself to construction imagery, where each building block needs to be in the right place, in the right alignment, at the right time. But before we start laying bricks (if you’ll pardon the pun), it’s important to properly... READ MORE