Hot Off the Presses

Sponsor and Participant Tools  

Nationwide Retirement Solutions has redesigned and enhanced its website to better serve public sector plan sponsors and participants. The redesigned and updated site is a result of extensive research and testing with both plan sponsors and participants, the company said.  

The 403(b) Transparency Taskforce launched the 403(b) Model Disclosure Form—transparency standards for disclosure of fees and services in the public school 403(b) marketplace. 

Qualified Plan Consultants LLC (QPC)released its Audit Protection Plan (QPC APP). The QPC APP provides assistance to the company’s 401(k) plan sponsor clients who become subject to an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) or Department of Labor (DOL) audit for any year they are a QPC client. 

T. Rowe Price launched Ready-2-Retire, a Web-based tool that allows investors to envision how they might live in retirement. Ready-2-Retire asks investors questions in a simple manner that helps them establish goals, set priorities and understand risks.

Standard Retirement Services Inc. added to the fiduciary protection available through its retirement plan services. The company can now act as an ERISA 3(16) fiduciary in performing certain plan administrative duties on behalf of plan sponsors who delegate these tasks.

Mesirow Financial and PNC Institutional Investments introduced Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) Section 3(21) and 3(38) fiduciary services for PNC’s Vested Interest retirement plan sponsors.  

Ary Rosenbaum, a New York-based ERISA attorney, introduced a 401(k) plan for small- to mid-sized employers. 401(k) Freedom, from 401(k) Freedom Inc., allows multiple businesses throughout the country to offer a retirement plan under the umbrella of a single, qualified retirement plan.

M&I Institutional Trust Services (M&I) introduced RightTrack, a suite of education and advice tools for 401(k) plan participants. RightTrack uses M&I’s retirement platform to deliver access to interactive tools and personal assistance, creating customized retirement planning solutions for clients.

IRAmarket.com unveiled a service to help reduce the paperwork for 401(k) rollovers to IRAs. The service helps users complete account applications using a secure online process. The features are powered by Wealth Management Systems Inc. (WMSI). 

BMO Institutional Trust Services initiated a retirement readiness program to help employers better prepare employees for retirement. The program consists of bimonthly communications with employers that sponsor 401(k) or other retirement savings plans.

ING introduced a mobile application that allows ING retirement plan participants to access and manage their retirement plan account-information while on-the-go. The app is called ING Retire and is available for iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad and Android devices.

Stanley, Hunt, DuPree & Rhine Investment Advisers Inc. (SHDR-IA) is offering ERISA 3(38) fiduciary services to retirement plan sponsors. The enhanced fiduciary-adviser status provides sponsors with greater investment fiduciary protection.

Standard Retirement Services Inc. launched two enhanced retirement plan websites: PlanNet, a retirement plan management resource for advisers and employers, and Personal Savings Center, a financial savings and management tool for participants.

MillenniuM Investment & Retirement Advisors (MIRA) and Rosenbaum Law Firm introduced Fiduciary Freedom Solutions (FFS) for 401(k) and 403(b) plans. FFS will supply all three levels of fiduciary protection under ERISA: 402(a) Named Fiduciary, 3(16) Plan Administrator and 3(38) Investment Fiduciary, as well as 50 hours of retained ERISA legal counsel, for one flat fee. 

Adviser Tools  

Judy Diamond Associates launched its BrokerSight database, which helps subscribers identify and begin relationships with producers in the retirement market. Formerly known as the Pension Annuities Database, BrokerSight includes important details about the group-retirement brokers’ books of business.

Pioneer Investments presented a tool to help registered investment advisers (RIAs) comply with the 408(b)(2) regulation. Pioneer’s tool is a model Advisory Agreement designed to meet the requirements of the 408(b)(2) regulation from the DOL, which says advisers must supply 401(k) plan sponsors and other retirement fiduciaries with standardized disclosure about their business before they provide advisory or other services to retirement plans.

LPL Financial Retirement Partners has made available two new tools as part of its Retirement Partners tool suite for advisers. The Plan Health Check tool allows retirement plan advisers to track and report a plan’s value and success attributes, such as plan participation, deferral rates and average account balance. The Fee Comparison & Analysis Evaluation tool compares plan fees and design against an appropriate peer group, producing an easy-to-read report for plan sponsors.

Securian Retirement introduced its Client Servicing Calendar to help financial advisers seeking opportunities to prove their value to retirement plan sponsor clients. The calendar offers advisers suggestions for providing service to plan sponsors and participants. It is built around quarterly events, ensuring that adviser support will be both relevant and timely.

The adviser support team at John Hancock Financial Network (JHFN) launched customized adviser 401(k) sales training. The program, developed by Integrated Retirement, is designed to equip advisers with the foundational knowledge they need to grow their business and support their 401(k) clients. 

Castle Rock Innovations LLC (CRI) is offering tools that focus on benchmarking fees and services. The newest suite of tools will give retirement plan fiduciaries, compliance personnel and advisers the ability to audit their retirement plan business for fair and reasonable fees. The Benchmarking Suite is integrated with AXIS data processing and reporting services for the broker/dealer and RIA firms in support of the new ERISA Section 408(b)(2) regulations.

Fiserv Inc.’s Retirement Illustrator is a new retirement income planning tool for advisers. Retirement Illustrator helps advisers present retirement spending requirements and distribution alternatives, overlaying risk events such as withdrawal, longevity, survivor needs and health care risks, to ensure their clients’ greatest concerns are addressed throughout their planning and retirement phases.

Brinker Capital introduced an application to help advisers determine how much of each client’s portfolio should be allocated to absolute return investments. The Absolute Return Mixer app is available for free download from Apple’s App Store, the Android Market and on Brinker Capital’s website. 

Nationwide Financial Services Inc. unveiled Investment Solutions Builder, a Web-based investment tool that allows RIAs to build and manage retirement plan fund lineups and asset allocation models for sponsors and participants.