Defined contribution plan sponsors have been removing restrictions from their company stock matching contributions in the last 12 to 18 months, according to preliminary data from a soon-to-be-released report from Fidelity Investments.
Some 44% use company stock to match employee contributions, while 56% use cash, said Kathryn Hopkins, executive vice president of Fidelity Investments. Of those with a company stock match, two-thirds have no restrictions on diversifying out of the stock, Ms. Hopkins said. In Fidelity’s 1999 survey, only 4% of sponsors allowed participants to immediately exchange matching contributions in company stock.
