Deals & People January 10, 2007

AllianceBernstein Promotes New Head of DC Business Development

AllianceBernstein Institutional Investments announced Tuesday that Sharon French has been named as managing director of defined contribution business development and client relations.
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French will be responsible for broadening AllianceBernstein’s defined contribution sales efforts and will report to Richard Davies, the senior managing director for Institutional Defined Contribution Services, according to a press release from the company.

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She will also work with institutional plan advisers serving AllianceBernstein’s clients.

French has spent the last five years as managing director of the Western Division of AllianceBernstein’s retail organization, where she oversaw 15 regional managers and product specialists distributing investment services through financial advisers.

Prior to joining AllianceBernstein in 2001, French headed global sales for mPower, an early provider of 401(k) plan investment advice. Before that, she spent 10 years at Smith Barney, where she developed a corporate services group to work with institutional investment banking clients.

Data & Research January 9, 2007

Admired Companies Love NQ Plans

Nearly all (92%) of the 276 US companies described as “most admired″ offer a non-qualified plan in their executive benefit package, according to a study by the Todd Organization.
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The Greensboro, North Carolina-based executive benefit consultant also found that 86% of companies offer voluntary deferred compensation programs; 64% offer one or more supplemental executive retirement plans (SERP); and 81% provide a company contribution to at least one plan. The consultant looked at shareholder proxies and other public documents from the public firms given the “most admired” title by Fortune Magazine.

According to the Todd Organization’s study, types of non-qualified benefits and the number of “most admired’ firms offering them were:

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Deferred Compensation

  • Voluntary Deferrals, 86%
  • At Least One Company Contribution, 65%
  • 401(k) Match Restoration, 48%
  • Fixed Rate with Yield above Statutory Rate, 18%
  • Company Stock is One of Choices, 15%

Defined Benefit SERP

  • Annual Accrual-Based Formula, 47%
  • Target Benefit Formula, 16%
  • Fixed Amount Formula, 4%

Account Balance SERP

  • Cash Balance, 11%
  • Formula-Based Discretionary Contributions, 2%
  • Other Discretionary, 2%

“Today more than ever companies want to be able to benchmark their executive benefits programs and know where they stand in relation to peers and competitors,” said Ward Russell, president of The Todd Organization, in the news release. “It has been our experience that well managed companies see properly structured and well managed non-qualified retirement plans as an important tool that can help to cost effectively retain quality executives while boosting shareholder value.”

Founded in 1957, The Todd Organization offers consulting in the design, financing, and administration of non-qualified retirement plans and other executive benefits. More information is at http://www.toddorg.com.

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