Skip to main content
MENU
Subscribe
  • Subscribe
  • Account
  • LOGIN
  • Topics
    • Alternatives
    • Consultants
    • Coronavirus
    • Courts
    • Defined Contribution
    • ESG
    • ETFs
    • Hedge Funds
    • Industry Voices
    • Investing
    • Money Management
    • Opinion
    • Partner Content
    • Pension Funds
    • Private Equity
    • Real Estate
    • Russia-Ukraine War
    • SECURE Act 2.0
    • Special Reports
    • White Papers
  • Rankings & Awards
    • 1,000 Largest Retirement Plans
    • Top-Performing Managers
    • Largest Money Managers
    • DC Money Managers
    • DC Record Keepers
    • Largest Hedge Fund Managers
    • World's Largest Retirement Funds
    • Best Places to Work in Money Management
    • Excellence & Innovation Awards
    • Eddy Awards
  • ETFs
    • Latest ETF News
    • Fund Screener
    • Education Center
    • Equities
    • Fixed Income
    • Commodities
    • Actively Managed
    • Alternatives
    • ESG Rated
  • ESG
    • Latest ESG News
    • The Institutional Investor’s Guide to ESG Investing
    • Climate Change: The Inescapable Opportunity
    • Impact Investing
    • 2022 ESG Investing Conference
    • ESG Rated ETFs
  • Defined Contribution
    • Latest DC News
    • DC Money Manager Rankings
    • DC Record Keeper Rankings
    • Innovations in DC
    • Trends in DC: Focus on Retirement Income
    • 2022 Defined Contribution East Conference
    • 2022 DC Investment Lineup Conference
  • Searches & Hires
    • Latest Searches & Hires News
    • Searches & Hires Database
    • RFPs
  • Performance Data
    • P&I Research Center
    • Earnings Tracker
    • Endowment Returns Tracker
    • Corporate Pension Contribution Tracker
    • Pension Fund Returns Tracker
    • Pension Risk Transfer Database
    • Future of Investments Research Series
    • Charts & Infographics
    • Polls
  • Careers
  • Events
    • View All Conferences
    • View All Webinars
    • 2022 Innovation Investing Conference
    • 2022 Defined Contribution East Conference
    • 2022 ESG Investing Conference
    • 2022 DC Investment Lineup Conference
    • 2022 Alternatives Investing Conference
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. Print
July 24, 1995 01:00 AM

NEW TOOL FOR 401(K) SPONSORS;DIRECTORY OFFERS COST, SERVICE DATA;NEWSLETTER FOR SCHWAB CLIENTS;SCARBOROUGH LANDS FORD;PRU PICKS PUTNAM, FIDELITY; MICHIGAN BANK HIRES ACUMEN; OPPENHEIMER PROGRAM DEBUTS;AMERICAN UNITED EXPANDS TO 22; MONTGOMERY JOINS BUCK A

Christine Williamson
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print

    BALTIMORE - Defined contribution plan sponsors have a new tool to benchmark the cost of providing plan services. The 401k Provider Directory Averages Book, published by HR Investment Consultants Inc., provides average cost and service data for small and medium-size plans. A universe of the top 128 401(k) vendors was used to calculate average costs using vendor charges.

    Background research found that regardless of plan size, more than 75% of the total plan cost is from investment management expenses. The book also shows a wide range of pricing exists between the low and high cost providers of identical services.

    Joseph W. Valletta, a spokesman for the company, said the book was prepared in response to questions from plan sponsors. "We've taken the contents of our database and put together a benchmarking guide that anyone anywhere can consult to see if they are paying a fair rate for plan services. We've designed the book for sponsors who do not want to use an outside consultant when they are considering making changes to their plan and are reviewing the costs of their current and potential plan design," said Mr. Valletta.

    LARKSPUR, Calif. - Financial Design Associates produces a quarterly newsletter for subscription by participants whose companies offer them a Personal Choice Retirement Plan through Charles Schwab Trust Co., San Francisco. The PCRA accounts are self-directed brokerage options, offering access to direct equity and bond investment, as well as to 1,300 mutual funds in Schwab's Marketplace program. Financial Design is not affiliated with Schwab.

    The newsletter offers advice, at the specific request of the participant, about funds in the Marketplace program. The newsletter also provides model portfolios with suggestions for the specific funds which best meet the asset allocation of the model.

    The newsletter is somewhat more technical and detailed than most designed for the 401(k) plan market. But this approach is suitable, since the participants subscribing to it are already using a self-directed brokerage account and probably have a higher-than-normal degree of investment savvy, said Paul Solli, editor. Similar quarterly newsletters are being developed for funds from Fidelity Investments and The Vanguard Group of Investment Cos., said Mr. Solli.

    Financial Design also has developed a mutual fund classification and performance evaluation system with BARRA, Berkeley, Calif., for use with the funds in the Schwab Marketplace.

    Financial Design also publishes a much simpler, generic 401(k) workbook and investment primer, supported by slide shows for group meetings.

    Financial Design plans to jump onto the Internet and make all of its educational materials available on the World Wide Web. The connection can eliminate the need for print delivery of educational materials for sponsors with a high-tech work force.

    ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Investment advisory firms which offer money management services to individual participants are gaining in popularity.

    One of the original players, Scarborough Group Inc., soon will be offering its individual account management services to Ford Motor Co. employees. Detroit-based Ford will be introducing at least 50 Fidelity mutual funds to its $5 billion-plus 401(k) plan through a mutual fund window by November, confirmed John Ferguson, director of Ford's national employee services center. The newly revamped plan also will offer nine core options.

    Mr. Ferguson stressed that Ford is not endorsing Scarborough. Scarborough offers individual account management services directly to employees of a number of large companies, including AT&T Co. and General Motors Corp.

    Scarborough officials say they manage more than $500 million from more than 5,000 401(k) participants. The firm's assets under management has been doubling every year since 1988, said Mike Scarborough, president.

    NEW YORK - Prudential Securities selected Putnam Investments, Boston, and Fidelity Investments Institutional Services Co., Boston, to provide mutual funds for a new 401(k) program called PruArray.

    The program, including record keeping and administration, is geared to plans with as few as 50 employees. It includes a 24-hour toll free information phone line and a package of employee communication, enrollment and education materials. Local Pru Securities financial advisers assist in providing employee education and monitoring the program.

    FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich. - Michigan National Bank hired Acumen Financial, Cambridge, Mass., to provide customized participant education for its defined contribution plan clients. Acumen will draw personal data from the bank's record-keeping system and will provide an individual report for each plan participant, setting savings goals and suggesting appropriate asset allocation.

    NEW YORK - Oppenheimer Management Corp. introduced the OppenheimerFunds 401(k) for small plans with between 25 and 200 employees. Twenty diversified Oppenheimer funds will be offered within the program, some with institutional pricing available. Oppenheimer will provide employee investment education materials.

    In what the two companies are calling a joint venture, Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co., Springfield, Mass., Oppenheimer's parent company, will provide record keeping, compliance, trust and participant communications. Distribution and marketing will be largely through financial planners.

    MassMutual's own bundled 401(k) service will continue to be offered as well.

    INDIANAPOLIS - American United Life Insurance Co.'s pension division added nine investment options to its retirement program, bringing the total number of choices to 22.

    Defined contribution plan sponsors may now offer participants funds from Fred Alger Management Inc., the Calvert Group, INVESCO North America, PBHG, T. Rowe Price Associates Inc., the Vanguard Group of Investment Cos. and an expanded array of funds from Fidelity Investments Institutional Services Co.

    The new funds are in addition to options managed by AUL itself, Fidelity and Twentieth Century Investors Inc. within the company's bundled defined contribution plan program.

    NEW YORK - Montgomery Asset Management L.P., San Francisco, was added to the 401(k) mutual fund alliance set up by Buck Consultants. Buck's 401(k) Connections alliance now includes 13 investment managers, which manage a diverse range of mutual and commingled funds and GIC options.

    NEW YORK - New York Life Insurance Co. received final regulatory approval in May from the New York State Banking Department and the New York State Insurance Commissioner to form a limited purpose trust company. New York Life is the first insurance company to receive authorization to set up a trust company in New York.

    The subsidiary, NYL Trust Co., initially will provide support for New York Life's bundled 401(k) program, primarily acting as trustee for plan assets. Its scope will be broadened in the future to include other trust services for institutional clients.

    Recommended for You
    Read the print edition of P&I
    Read the print edition of P&I
    How low is low? Projections say it's not low enough
    How low is low? Projections say it's not low enough
    FINRA honors Wharton's Olivia Mitchell with Ketchum Prize
    FINRA honors Wharton's Olivia Mitchell with Ketchum Prize
    OCIO, Anchor in Rough Seas
    Sponsored Content: OCIO, Anchor in Rough Seas

    Reader Poll

    May 9, 2022
    SEE MORE POLLS >
    Sponsored
    White Papers
    Are Factors a Thing of the Past?
    Q2 2022 Credit Outlook: Carry On
    Leverage does not equal risk
    Is there a mid-cap gap in your DC plan?
    Out of the Shadows: The Revolution in Shadow Accounting
    The pivotal role of fixed income markets in the ESG revolution
    View More
    Sponsored Content
    Partner Content
    The Industrialization of ESG Investment
    For institutional investors, ETFs can make meeting liquidity needs easier
    Gold: the most effective commodity investment
    2021 Investment Outlook | Investing Beyond the Pandemic: A Reset for Portfolios
    Ten ways retirement plan professionals add value to plan sponsors
    Gold: an efficient hedge
    View More
    E-MAIL NEWSLETTERS

    Sign up and get the best of News delivered straight to your email inbox, free of charge. Choose your news – we will deliver.

    Subscribe Today
    May 9, 2022 page one

    Get access to the news, research and analysis of events affecting the retirement and institutional money management businesses from a worldwide network of reporters and editors.

    Subscribe
    Connect With Us
    • RSS
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • LinkedIn

    Our Mission

    To consistently deliver news, research and analysis to the executives who manage the flow of funds in the institutional investment market.

    About Us

    Main Office
    685 Third Avenue
    Tenth Floor
    New York, NY 10017-4036

    Chicago Office
    130 E. Randolph St.
    Suite 3200
    Chicago, IL 60601

    Contact Us

    Careers at Crain

    About Pensions & Investments

     

    Advertising
    • Media Kit
    • P&I Content Solutions
    • P&I Careers | Post a Job
    • Reprints & Permissions
    Resources
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • FAQ
    • P&I Research Center
    • Site map
    • Staff Directory
    Legal
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Request
    Pensions & Investments
    Copyright © 1996-2022. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • Topics
      • Alternatives
      • Consultants
      • Coronavirus
      • Courts
      • Defined Contribution
      • ESG
      • ETFs
      • Hedge Funds
      • Industry Voices
      • Investing
      • Money Management
      • Opinion
      • Partner Content
      • Pension Funds
      • Private Equity
      • Real Estate
      • Russia-Ukraine War
      • SECURE Act 2.0
      • Special Reports
      • White Papers
    • Rankings & Awards
      • 1,000 Largest Retirement Plans
      • Top-Performing Managers
      • Largest Money Managers
      • DC Money Managers
      • DC Record Keepers
      • Largest Hedge Fund Managers
      • World's Largest Retirement Funds
      • Best Places to Work in Money Management
      • Excellence & Innovation Awards
      • Eddy Awards
    • ETFs
      • Latest ETF News
      • Fund Screener
      • Education Center
      • Equities
      • Fixed Income
      • Commodities
      • Actively Managed
      • Alternatives
      • ESG Rated
    • ESG
      • Latest ESG News
      • The Institutional Investor’s Guide to ESG Investing
      • Climate Change: The Inescapable Opportunity
      • Impact Investing
      • 2022 ESG Investing Conference
      • ESG Rated ETFs
    • Defined Contribution
      • Latest DC News
      • DC Money Manager Rankings
      • DC Record Keeper Rankings
      • Innovations in DC
      • Trends in DC: Focus on Retirement Income
      • 2022 Defined Contribution East Conference
      • 2022 DC Investment Lineup Conference
    • Searches & Hires
      • Latest Searches & Hires News
      • Searches & Hires Database
      • RFPs
    • Performance Data
      • P&I Research Center
      • Earnings Tracker
      • Endowment Returns Tracker
      • Corporate Pension Contribution Tracker
      • Pension Fund Returns Tracker
      • Pension Risk Transfer Database
      • Future of Investments Research Series
      • Charts & Infographics
      • Polls
    • Careers
    • Events
      • View All Conferences
      • View All Webinars
      • 2022 Innovation Investing Conference
      • 2022 Defined Contribution East Conference
      • 2022 ESG Investing Conference
      • 2022 DC Investment Lineup Conference
      • 2022 Alternatives Investing Conference