The mutual fund giant said that it has started offering 401(k) plans an online platform that participants can use to purchase annuities.
Including annuities in 401(k) plans could represent a prime opportunity for advisers — if a new model for compensation can be devised and if advisers are allowed on-site to explain their product to employees, according to industry experts.
Many Americans are paying high fees in their 401(k) plans for insurance they don’t need, and their employers often are unaware, some observers say.
LOS ANGELES — Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Christopher Cox is on a mission to wipe out the legalese in corporate-disclosure documents.
The financial planning world has been focusing too heavily on the act of accumulating assets, according to an academic speaking at the InvestmentNews Retirement Summit in New York this afternoon.
Initial reactions to the proposed changes to the ethical standards for certified financial planners have been favorable, but the other shoe could drop this week.
NEW YORK — IBM Corp.’s announcement that it will offer financial planning services to all 127,000 of its U.S. employees is the biggest sign yet that companies are increasingly interested in providing workers with more individual — and effective — counseling on financial topics.
The growth of the financial planning profession overseas is in the fast lane, though there are some speed bumps, observers say.
WASHINGTON — The ideas of limiting 401(k) plan options to index funds and requiring all plan administrators to be brought under fiduciary duties were in focus last week at a congressional hearing on 401(k) fees.
With a House panel scheduled to hold a hearing Tuesday to discuss whether the hidden fees in 401(k) plans are fair, at least one industry watcher is calling such fees too low and another says making general judgments about them is difficult.
CHICAGO — Socially conscious and faith-based investing is gaining traction in the retirement plan arena.
As the Department of Labor puts pressure on advisers to make 401(k) fees more transparent, some financial advisers are refunding fees to participants that they are being paid from mutual fund companies.
KPMG LLP endured another blow in its tax shelter case this week, when a federal judge in Texas ruled that tax shelters based on fake bank loans are not legitimate tax write-offs, according to the New York Times.
Three executives of National Planning Corp., Sean Haley, Bryan Jacobsen and Austin Moon, have received promotions.
As more and more people turn to financial advisers to map out their own futures, they're increasingly asking them to draw up plans for their pets as well.
Emplanet aims to make it easier and cheaper for small companies to offer retirement plans
The $4.5 million computer-driven service, called Financial Engines Inc., is to begin in the middle of the year.
