The Department of Labor has proposed that investments be allowed as default options in 401(k) plans.
Registered investment advisers are the fastest-growing distribution channel for mutual-fund-based small-business 401(k)s. Starting from a small base, they are adding assets at the rate of about 14% a year, according to Boston-based Financial Research Corp.
In a case that married dry-as-dust estate-planning issues with “Dallas”-like squabbling among wealthy family members, a Texas court has decided that King Ranch heir B.K. Johnson had all his faculties when he drew up his last will and that his widow and third wife didn’t manipulate him into excluding his children.
CHICAGO — Financial advisers are crafting new strategies to convince clients to complete their wills and estate plans.
Two-thirds of defined benefit pension sponsors have either closed their plans to new hires or have frozen such pensions for all participants in the last two years.
A long-running trademark battle is threatening to derail the expansion of the CFA Institute in what has become one of the fastest-growing markets for financial planning professionals.
NEW YORK — After receiving suggestions from financial professionals, the Social Security Administration has designated a section of its website specifically for advisers.
The Online 401(k) announced today it is partnering with Expedition Payroll, which will allow the company to offer its clients more comprehensive payroll systems.
Public-service spots starring “Savingsman” and his canine companion "401k-9" won three Emmy awards.
Postnuptial agreements are gaining popularity as an estate-planning tool, and some hedge funds and private-equity firms have asked their top executives to sign them to protect their companies in case of a messy divorce, according to attorneys and financial advisers.
PHILADELPHIA — With help from Barclays Global Investors, a California 401(k) record keeper has created a new platform intended to break the mutual fund stranglehold on the 401(k) market.
An association has been formed to educate and advocate about issues relevant to 401(k) independent record keepers.
A retirement savings plan that covers more than 3.7 million federal workers may take a page from an increasing number of corporate 401(k) plan sponsors and institute automatic enrollment.
WASHINGTON — The Investment Company Institute last week fought back against the life insurance industry’s attempt to get stable-value funds included as 401(k) default investment options.
CHICAGO — Life cycle fever seems to be spreading from 401(k) plans to variable annuities. At ING Variable Annuities, for instance, assets in LifeStyle portfolios — which were introduced as ING-managed subaccounts in mid-2004 — reached $8 billion at the end of April, up from more than $4 billion at the end of 2005.
A new 401(k) plan featuring iShares ETFs from Barclays Global Investors is now available.
As the Department of Labor considers improving fee disclosure to retirement plan participants, some vendors and advisers are racing to offer more information to 401(k) participants, while most are content to wait for a directive.
Add financial literacy and trust in financial institutions to the factors that increase 401(k) participation rates.
The widely publicized dispute between diet guru Robert Atkins’ widow and the trustees of her trust is a cautionary tale for financial advisers and their clients about what can happen in estate cases, observers say.
