Hot off the Presses

Sponsor and Participant Tools

401kDIRECT and Summit Trust Company are introducing the DIRECT Multiple Employer Plan (MEP) for plan sponsors who want the benefits of an MEP while maintaining control over plan design and investments.

iJoin is the latest mobile software program for 401(k) plan participants from Left Coast Solutions and iGate Patni. For use on a smartphone, the program leads participants through a personalized retirement planning process.

The Guardian Insurance & Annuity Company partnered with SWBC Investment Advisory Services to offer plan sponsors fiduciary support. The services of SWBC, an independent RIA, will be available to plan sponsors who utilize The Guardian Advantage or The Guardian Choice.

The SPARK Institute released its final version of data layouts for sharing investment-specific information for nonregistered investment products that retirement plan administrators must disclose to participants under the DoL’s participant disclosure regulations.

M&I Institutional Trust Services is rolling out PlanView, an interactive online tool that enables retirement plan sponsors and advisers to evaluate plan and participant metrics.

Fifth Third Bank made changes to its retirement planning site, Retire.53.com, in response to feedback from surveys, focus groups, and other interactions with its 401(k) clients. The redesigned site will provide a more personalized experience for clients, with tools and information to help them take control of their retirement.

Russell Investments created the “Target Replacement Income” ratio, to help plan sponsors better understand if their participants are saving enough for retirement. Along with a paper, “What’s the right savings rate?” Russell breaks down various parts of plan design in an effort to improve participant behavior.

Vanguard will offer a bundled 401(k) and profit-sharing plan service for companies with assets of less than $20 million through a partnership with Ascensus.

Prudential Retirement released a white paper, “Stable Value Products: An Increasingly Important Component of the U.S. Retirement Market,” discussing how stable-value products can provide fiduciaries and participants with protections not generally available within other investment choices in retirement plans.

Transamerica Retirement Services has launched RetireTrack, Web-based interactive and customizable retirement savings tools for retirement plan participants. RetireTrack helps plan participants analyze and improve their retirement strategies based on their individual goals, financial situation, and available investment choices.

GuidedChoice has launched Retirement Readiness, a solution that allows plan participants to see how prepared they are for retirement and helps them take action to improve their savings and investment strategies.

Flex-Soft Inc. has added a cash balance analysis to its retirement plan comparison tool, PSCnet. Plan sponsors and their advisers will be able to compare plan options side-by-side, with cash balance as a single plan or combined with 401(k) and profit sharing plans.

The Newport Group has created a section on its Web site called “My Forecast,” dedicated to helping participants weigh their retirement income options.

MetLife issued a guide, “Fiduciary-Level Disclosures for ERISA Retirement Plans,” providing an overview of the upcoming Department of Labor regulations regarding fee disclosure requirements that service providers must provide to plan sponsors by April 1, 2012.

MassMutual’s Retirement Services Division and ADP announced they are each adding Mesirow Financial’s Fiduciary Partnership Service to its retirement platforms to help retirement plan clients manage fiduciary risk.

Transamerica Retirement Services has introduced an ERISA Section 3(21) fiduciary service to help retirement plan advisers and sponsors mitigate investment fiduciary risk, using Mesirow Financial investment strategies.

Nationwide Financial Services expanded its retirement plan offerings with a product called Nationwide Retirement Flexible Advantage. The program offers an array of investment options without proprietary fund requirements, alongside fee transparency, fee-based compensation, and comprehensive support.

Adviser Tools

Nationwide Financial has dedicated a portion of its Web site to help advisers stay up-to-date on regulatory and legislative changes, under the heading, ERISA Questions Answered.

Fidelity Investments has designated a portion of its Web site specifically for fixed-income resources, including market research, education, and analysis.

RidgeWorth Investments launched a Web site dedicated to helping financial advisers learn how to use online tools to grow their business. The site, efficient-advisor.com, includes educational one-pagers and short video tutorials highlighting the benefits of using LinkedIn and Google Alerts, as well as a list of useful mobile apps and a checklist for hosting successful client events.

A new fiduciary designation, Global Fiduciary Strategist (GFS), is being offered by 3ethos, a fiduciary training firm founded by Don Trone.

Invesco is adding a consulting series to its PlanForward program, designed to help advisers and consultants build a compelling value proposition and enhance their brand recognition.

Robert W. Baird & Co.’s Retirement Plans Services division has a new customizable reporting solution developed by UpTick Data Technologies. The solution utilizes UpTick’s Web-based monitoring and reporting capabilities, which are packaged into PlanXtra. It allows advisers to monitor investment criteria and automate the production of quarterly reports for Baird’s defined contribution clients.

Putnam Investments has launched a Web site for advisers, www.putnam.com/advisor, in alignment with its strategy of expanding its Web-based technologies to help financial advisers and their clients achieve financial goals.

A guide from the Principal Financial Group provides an in-depth look at how advisers can help plan sponsors develop a retirement plan with the least amount of risk. “Good Governance, A Guide for Retirement Plan Sponsors” offers 10 steps to good retirement plan governance, along with tips and sample documents.

The American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries (ASPPA)  formed the National Association of Plan Advisors (NAPA) to serve as a professional society exclusively focused on advisers serving employer-sponsored retirement plans. NAPA will focus on advocacy, business intelligence, and networking opportunities.

Retirement Plan Advisory Group (RPAG) has developed training videos for its adviser members. The videos, which range from basic to advanced, will be available through a new Web portal called the Video Learning Center.

Investments

Becker Capital Management is introducing an institutional share class for its Large Cap Value strategy, the Becker Value Equity Fund.

PIMCO launched the PIMCO Credit Absolute Return Fund for investors seeking a global, diversified strategy that is focused on absolute return and not constrained by a benchmark and the PIMCO Inflation Response Multi-Asset Fund for investors looking to hedge global inflation risks.

John Hancock launched “Inflation Guard,” an annuity that combines a principal guarantee with the ability to help protect the purchasing power of retirement assets from the impact of inflation.

Fidelity Investments has expanded its Spartan equity index mutual fund lineup with five low-cost funds. The funds include: Spartan Emerging Markets Index Fund, Spartan Global ex U.S. Index Fund, Spartan Mid Cap Index Fund, Spartan Real Estate Index Fund, and Spartan Small Cap Index Fund.

Russell Investments is expanding its Investment Discipline Indexes (IDIs) to include four U.S. small cap indexes, each reflecting a particular approach to small cap security selection commonly practiced by professional money managers: the Russell U.S. Small Cap Aggressive Growth Indices, Russell U.S. Small Cap Consistent Growth Index, Russell U.S. Small Cap Low P/E Index, and Russell U.S. Small Cap Contrarian Index.

The Guardian Insurance & Annuity Company has added to its fund lineup and focus list options for plan sponsors who use The Guardian Advantage or The Guardian Choice as the funding vehicle for their retirement plan.

S&P Indices has launched the S&P Latin America Infrastructure Index, designed to measure the largest and most liquid publicly listed Latin American infrastructure companies that meet certain investability requirements.

Putnam Investments has launched the Putnam Dynamic Risk Allocation Fund, designed to actively balance sources of risk across multiple asset classes, with flexibility to respond to changing economic conditions and market valuations, in pursuit of consistent levels of total return.

INTECH Investment Management launched a suite of absolute volatility equity strategies, Low Volatility and Managed Volatility. The suite offers institutional investors the potential for both equity-like and above-market returns, at lower volatility than is associated with capitalization-weighted equity indexes.

Litman Gregory Fund Advisors launched its Litman Gregory Masters Alternative Strategies Fund, a no-load, multi-manager, multi-strategy mutual fund that offers investors diversified exposure to alternative and absolute return-oriented strategies.

BlackRock, Inc. launched three mutual funds featuring alternative investment strategies available to the firm’s U.S. retail and high-net-worth client base: BlackRock Commodity Strategies Fund, BlackRock Emerging Markets Long/Short Equity Fund, and BlackRock Global Long/Short Credit Fund.