It’s hard enough to save enough for retirement, but even those who are fortunate enough to have a DB plan are at risk from companies willing to buy their pensions in exchange for a lump sum. The SEC and FINRA recently issued an investor alert not only for pensioners but also for people investing in... READ MORE

The Wall Street Journal is reporting more interest from big pension funds in riskier or distressed properties being offered by so-called “opportunity” funds. With big funds like CalPERS losing an estimated $10 billion in real estate investments during the market downturn, most moved to investments... READ MORE

At a recent ICI meeting, representatives from three larger broker dealers questioned whether social media helps financial advisors grow and run their business — or whether there’s more hype there than reality. Financial advisors, especially at larger broker dealers where the reps are employees,... READ MORE

Changing broker dealers is one of the most difficult decisions an advisor will make in his or her career, with the transition taking at least 12 months before everything is back to business as usual. Making the transition to an RIA can be even harder. A look by Fidelity at why advisors did or did... READ MORE

While recent case law does not suggest that revenue sharing violates ERISA, other court cases like Tibble and Tussey do suggest that fiduciaries have to select the lowest share class available to the plan. These decisions raise the question of whether participants should be paying different amounts... READ MORE

A new study by Bank of America Merrill Lynch in conjunction with Age Wave shows a dramatic shift in Baby Boomers’ attitudes about retirement. As the first generation without significant DB coverage begins to retire and people expect to live longer, most people see retirement as a beginning, not an... READ MORE

Though bearish bond managers’ predictions about yield — including from PIMCO’s Bill Gross and BlackRock’s Rick Rieder— have not come to fruition, they still warn about the end of a market bubble that many claim is sustained by central banks. Since 2009, many have bet that yields would rise when... READ MORE

ING’s U.S. operation, trading under the name Voya, saw its stock rise 7% in first day trading yesterday, closing at $20.84 per share.Its opening price of $19.50, however, was lower than the announced price of $21-$24. Shares might have been muted due to Voya’s closed variable annuity and... READ MORE

Using 401(k)s as the bellwether for a new world driven by increased connectivity, noted author and New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman writes that the DC system embodies a world in which each individual must take charge of his or her life. Gone are the institutional protections from big... READ MORE