Products December 4, 2007

Small Biz to Get Quic(k)Start from Ascensus

Small businesses can get their retirement plan aspirations off to a quick start with Quic(k)Start, a new retirement plan option from Ascensus.
Reported by

Ascensus (formerly BISYS Retirement Services – see BISYS’ New Name Says It is “Moving Up’) has launched Quic(k)Start, a retirement plan for small businesses. Designed for organizations with 15 employees or less, Quic(k)Start offers an economical retirement plan solution with full service capabilities, according to the press release.

Quic(k)Start combines plan administration, recordkeeping services and employee communications on an open architecture retirement platform with no proprietary fund requirements, according to the firm. Product features such as (k)ruiseControl, an automatic enrollment and deferral increase program, provide built-in safeguards to help plan sponsors meet their fiduciary obligations and employees achieve their retirement goals.

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Participants are provided with the tools they need to manage their retirement account using built-in product features such as full transactional Internet and Interactive Voice Response (IVR) services, access to Morningstar Retirement Manager, automated account rebalancing and personalized rate-of-return tools.

“Small businesses face a number of challenges when it comes to attracting and retaining quality employees and providing competitive benefits. The Quic(k)Start retirement plan can be the difference that sets a company apart from the rest, and we are pleased to help employers offer a cost effective yet robust retirement solution to their employees,” said Mike Narkoff, Senior Vice President, Ascensus-Distribution Support Services, in the release.

Compliance December 4, 2007

South Miami Pension Trustees File Claim over Merrill Consulting Practices

Merrill Lynch has again been accused of violating regulatory prohibitions in its consulting practices with government pension plans.
Reported by

The Miami Herald reports the board of trustees for South Miami’s pension plan have filed an arbitration claim alleging that, rather than looking out for the interests of city employees, Merrill Lynch pursued an investment strategy intended to generate excessive fees and commissions. In November Merrill Lynch sent letters to pension boards around the state informing them that Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) staff believe the firm and one of its pension consultants, Mike Callaway, violated federal regulations (See SEC Looks into Merrill’s Florida Pension Consultancy Practice).

Soon after, Jacksonville Police and Fire Pension Fund trustees announced the termination of the fund’s contract with Merrill Lynch Consulting Services (See FL Pension Board Axes Merrill Consulting Contract).

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Callaway, who has taken a leave of absence, also wrote clients a letter stating SEC staff believes that he and Merrill Lynch did not disclose “all of the relevant information about your fees, manager selections, alleged conflicts of interest and what I earned,” the Miami Herald said, citing the Palm Beach Post.

SEC staff notified Callaway they intended to recommend the commission institute a cease-and-desist proceeding alleging he violated securities laws.

“This office was a bunch of bad apples who woke up every morning with the express thought of how they were going to generate fees and commissions off the pension plans they represented in the state of Florida,” said Bradley Cassel, board chairman of South Miami’s pension plan, in the news report.

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