Products December 22, 2006

AXA Equitable Releases Fiduciary Info Product

AXA Equitable has unveiled the Fiduciary Toolkit, a resource available through its Retirement Strategies 401(k) product aimed at helping small to mid-size defined contribution plan administrators manage their fiduciary obligations.
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A news release said the Fiduciary Toolkit and its companion CD guide contain required forms and to-do checklists. The new offering guides plan fiduciaries through their obligations on:

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  • naming a fiduciary,

  • selecting plan providers,

  • plan design,

  • a model investment policy statement,

  • election of Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) 404(c),

  • employee communications,

  • employee education, and

  • investment review.

According to AXA Equitable, the new offering is designed to help those running small and mid-size plans avoid 10 common fiduciary problems, including not:

  • documenting fiduciary decisions,

  • maintaining supporting documentation related to the plan’s investment, administration, monitoring and management,

  • interviewing and gathering all the facts necessary to a make prudent decision regarding the choice of the service provider,

  • interviewing and gathering all the facts necessary to understand the fee arrangements regarding the plan, its service providers and its investments,

  • monitoring the service providers and revisiting the choices of those providers,

  • bidding out the job for service providers and documenting that process,

  • clearly understanding the various responsibilities of service providers,

  • forwarding employee contributions within a reasonable amount of time,

  • understanding the interrelationships of service providers and who is providing what services, and

  • clearly understanding what the plan is invested in, especially if the plan is using investment options such as hedge funds and financial derivatives.

More information about the company is at http://www.axa-equitable.com/.

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