TIAA-CREF is launching an education initiative incorporating new media and dispatching the firm's top talent around the country in an effort to reach participants in whatever ways they feel comfortable.
Institutional vehicles such as commingled investment trusts (CITs) and separate accounts are beginning to pop up in smaller plans, according to Jake Hartnett, analyst, at Cerulli Associates.
Employers and employees are on opposite sides of the fence when it comes to retirement education, a new MetLife study has found.
Plan sponsors are snatching up programs that help them reach out to their participants in trying times--implementing them at a rate that is outpacing expectations.
Two senior members of Columbia Management's investment team are retiring.
New York state's 529 College Savings Program Direct Plan has added an international fund option to its roughly $6 billion, 500,000-life plan.
American Funds is May 1 rolling out a new share class for retirement plans.
Chicago-based consulting firm Ennis Knupp is ramping up its focus on lifecycle funds, guaranteed income and roll down methodology.
A majority of Americans are afraid they will never be able to retire, according to a new survey.
Security Benefit is making a grab at 600 plan sponsors with a new campaign to snatch away business from third-party administrators being forced to change their business model in light of changes in the 403(b) market.
State college savings plans are increasingly adding options that allow advisors to sell the plans in order to reach a larger segment of the market.
Putnam Investments is looking to double the number of its wholesale staff dedicated to the 401(k) space by year's end.
An overwhelming majority of defined contribution consultants want their plan sponsor clients to add Treasury Inflation Protected Securities, or TIPS, to their 401(k) plans in the next two years, new data has found.
Advisors are reporting an increased interest in annuity-based offerings--or those that provide a guaranteed income stream--when helping their clients prepare for retirement, according to a new Brightwork Partners study.
Lucio Giliberti has been hired to the position of northeastern sales director at PMFM/401k Toolbox and charged with a goal of $260 million in sales for his first year.
Colorado-based UAT, a technology and consulting company, has partnered with FrontLine Compliance to offer consulting services to its clients.
Bensalem, Penn.-based Giles & Ransome, the construction sales and service division of Ransome CAT, has temporarily suspended its match for its defined contribution plan as of March 1.
Putnam Investments has switched its defined contribution platform from Mercer to FASCore.
The number of plan sponsors satisfied with their providers dropped to 31% this year, down from 82% in 2008.
Allianz Global Investors has created a sales team to focus on growing its presence in the defined contribution market.
TIAA-CREF has unveiled a new campaign to pressure money managers that continue to conduct business with the Sudanese government.
ING has launched new Web tool-- INGCompareMe.com--that works by relying on peer comparison in an effort to encourage plan participants to log on to the Web for advice.
Affluent self-directed investors are more interested in and aware of exchange-traded funds than those investors who rely on financial advisors, new data has found.
SSI has hired Emily Colella as senior v.p. and director of institutional client services/marketing manager.
Pittsburgh based broker-dealer Don Settina joined National Retirement Partners this week in an effort to put more focus on its retirement business.
Oklahoma has launched an additional 529 college savings plan for families to be sold through advisors.
Spectrem Group has hired Mitchell Politzer as managing director and president of Spectrem Consulting. Politzer is slated to start April 7.
Communications technology firm vWise is partnering with Discovery databases in an effort to expand its reach to more defined contribution advisors.
Plan sponsors need to review their service provider agreements to ensure they are putting their participants ahead of themselves in the souring economy, according to Joe Faucher, partner at Reish Luftman Reicher & Cohen.
Oakland, Calif.-based WESPAC is expanding its reach into the southwest region.
Allianz Global Investors is closing its Allianz NFJ Small-Cap Value Fund to new investors April 20.
AllianceBernstein is rolling out a fresh training initiative for its 529 college savings plan wholesalers, financial advisors and distribution arms in an effort to tighten its message.
Maine's NextGen College Investing Plan is no longer offering OppenheimerFunds to new accounts. Beth Bordowitz, ceo of the Finance Authority of Maine, told DCSPA the decision was based on performance concerns.
RTKL Associates, a Baltimore, Md.-based architecture firm, has implemented automatic enrollment for its roughly $31 million, 829-life plan.
New York Life Retirement Plan Services has hired Thomas Mitchell to the role of v.p. and executive relationship manager for its Taft-Hartley union business.
Retirement Income Solutions Enterprise, a retirement income-focused consulting and communications firm, is launching a set of tools aimed at educating participants on their risks in retirement.
Charles Schwab & Co. is piloting an educational training program for plan sponsors that for the first time does not focus on building a nest egg, but rather illustrates how everything in life can be related to saving for retirement.
Officials at Wells Fargo and Wachovia's combined retirement business have decided to go in-house with its recordkeeping system, selecting Wachovia's WySTAR over Wells Fargo's OmniPLUS, a third-party platform.
Plan sponsors are documenting their decision-making processes less thoroughly now than in previous years, new data has found.