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Fred Barstein
By Fred Barstein | 7/11/2013
Money managers’ AUM rose to $62.4 trillion in 2012, according to a study by the Boston Consulting Group. That figure, which surpasses the previous record (set in 2007, before the Great Recession), was driven primarily by market growth of global equities and fixed income. Profits also rose to 37% of...
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By Fred Barstein | 7/11/2013
According to the DOL’s semiannual regulatory agenda indicating which rules the department plans to issue, the redefinition-of-fiduciary rule, which DOL’s Employee Benefits Security Administration calls “Conflict of Interest Rule—Investment Advice,” will be re-proposed in October. Apparently,...
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By Fred Barstein | 7/11/2013
Is revenue sharing a plan asset? This issue and others were addressed in a July 3 DOL opinion letter (Advisory Opinion 2013-03A) addressed to the Groom Law Group concerning a plan administered by Principal. In the situation addressed in the letter, Principal receives payments in the form of 12b-1...
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By Fred Barstein | 7/10/2013
All good things must come to an end — even for Vanguard, which has enjoyed success in recent years riding the passive and TDF waves. In June the company experienced its first month of net redemptions in nearly 20 years, dating back to December 1994. Though the loss was a modest $100 million,...
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By Fred Barstein | 7/9/2013
The question of what happens when interest rates rise has a serious impact on stable value funds but, according to comments by leading investment consultants and recent research, plan sponsors are not abandoning ship — though they are concerned. There are a lot of questions about SVFs, but so far,...
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By Fred Barstein | 7/9/2013
One of the original missions of NAPA was to make sure that the people in Washington — both regulators and members of Congress — understand what really dedicated and experienced plan advisors do to help their clients plan for retirement. In addition, NAPA hoped to be able to give advisors access to...
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By Fred Barstein | 7/8/2013
Should auto-enrollment be required? The answer is clearly “yes,” according to Alicia Munnell, director of the Retirement Research Center at Boston College. Though participation rates saw a major boost after the 2006 PPA, those spikes in participation rates have leveled off, according to Munnell —...
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By Fred Barstein | 7/8/2013
We all know that loans and hardship withdrawals seriously deplete savings in retirement. A new infographic from Fidelity based on data from more than 20,000 plans and 12.3 million participants illustrates the point in a way that might help participants think twice. Salient facts:• 1 in 9...
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By Fred Barstein | 7/5/2013
When a former employee returns to the company, should that person be treated as a new employee and be forced to satisfy eligibility requirements? When should they be allowed into the plan? The answer is not as clear as it seems — as detailed in a recent briefing by Relius.There are break-in-service...
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By Fred Barstein | 7/5/2013
As more assets flow into TDFs, analysis of how they are created is becoming essential to advisors and plan sponsors. There are numerous tools available from firms like Allianz, Pimco and JP Morgan to get under the hood — especially understanding whether a fund is intended to take the investor “to”...
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By Fred Barstein | 7/3/2013
In the 12 months ending Oct. 1, 2012, more than 300 EBSA investigators in 10 regional offices closed 3,566 investigations, 72.1% of which resulted in a total of $1.27 billion in fines. About one-quarter of those investigations resulted from the approximately 240,000 inquiries that come from...
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By Fred Barstein | 7/2/2013
Some people concerned about rough markets ahead are turning to hedged mutual funds, according to a Wall Street Journal article. Though still a fraction of the overall market, hedged mutual funds keep attracting assets even as performance lags. Along with mutual fund providers, private equity firms...
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By Fred Barstein | 7/2/2013
Morningstar has released a comprehensive and far-reaching review and analysis of the TDF market that includes results from Q1 2013. Some of the findings are not surprising, including the continued popularity of the investment class — which now tops $500 million — and the dominance of the Big 3 (...
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By Fred Barstein | 7/1/2013
The conventional wisdom today is that DB and the relatively new cash balance plans are better than DC plans like 401(k)s. But according to research by EBRI based on a variety of simulated analyses, participants do better in a 401(k) plan than in a DB or cash balance plan.The analysis assumed...
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By Fred Barstein | 7/1/2013
The auto DC plan is the talk of the industry (along with TDFs), but we’re still learning how to best manage these relatively new tools to improve participant outcomes while being sensitive to employers’ concerns. In a newly released white paper, the Defined Contribution Institutional Investment...
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By Fred Barstein | 7/1/2013
In a new package of rules filed by FINRA with the SEC, gone is the previously proposed requirement that broker dealers supervise non-securities-related businesses — apparently as a result of industry protests. FINRA was quick to point out that registered reps will still be held to high standards...
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By Fred Barstein | 6/27/2013
According to research by Cerulli, the headcount for advisors dropped 1.3% in 2012 — a trend that’s expected to continue through 2016. Combined with the fact that the average age for advisors is 51, with 68 the age they expect to retire, you can begin to see the problem. After the recession, wire...
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By Fred Barstein | 6/27/2013
Concerns among employees about their retirement security is an opportunity for advisors to be more competitive, asserts a white paper from ADP that also offers some simple solutions. In addition, ADP has created an infographic that highlights some key data on this issue. Employees’ confidence about...
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By Fred Barstein | 6/26/2013
Though TDF assets grew 20% in 2012, the net number of TDFs dropped from 50 to 48, according to a 200-page report from Brightscope and TD Analytics. This marked the first drop in that number since the two groups started covering TDFs. Columbia, Oppenheimer, Goldman Sachs and American Independence...
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By Fred Barstein | 6/26/2013
After obtaining permission from the SEC, FINRA will start publishing a monthly report detailing broker complaints and sanctions. The SEC currently has a similar program. Currently, investors can look up information about individual brokers on BrokerCheck gleaned from U4 filings.While some praise...
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