'Life events' ignored

Employees who were recently laid off won't find a lot of advice from mutual fund companies about what they should do with their cash. Just 50% of firms offered information about "life events" such as marriage, divorce, changing jobs and dealing with the death of a loved one, according to a survey of 18 fund companies last month from Corporate Insight Inc. "We also found that firms generally differ on the life events that should be discussed," said Lauren Wistrom, a senior analyst at the New York-based financial services consulting firm. The most popular topics were unemployment/changing jobs and planning for major purchases, with 56% of firms offering information that touch upon these situations, according to the report. Divorce-related information, offered by 44% of firms, was another popular topic, and 33% of firms discussed death, marriage, birth/adoption and long term care. A few life event topics weren't explored by many firms at all. For example, American Century Investments of Kansas City, Mo., was the only firm surveyed that helps investors manage inheritances, while Fidelity Investments of Boston was the only firm to help clients plan for children with special needs. "I would think firms would want to add this kind of information," Ms. Wistrom said. "It's strange more of them haven't."