The Bucket
By Editorial Staff Wed, Sep 21, 2011
Brief or late-breaking items from Vanguard, Prudential, AEGON/Transamerica, Celent, Fidelity, GuidedChoice, LPL Financial, Milliman, EagleEye Analytics, Archstone Foundation, and Fidelity.
Vanguard and Ascensus to provide 401(k) plans to
small companies
Vanguard, the low-cost investment provider, said that it will partner with Ascensus, a recordkeeper and administrator of small retirement plans, to offer bundled services for 401(k) and profit-sharing plans with assets of $20 million or less.
The service is expected to launch in the fourth quarter with “all-in” plan costs—total investment and recordkeeping costs—anticipated to be among the lowest in the industry, Vanguard said in a release.
“The new service will include funds, recordkeeping, call center services, compliance testing, participant education, and optional services such as participant advice, self-directed brokerage, and trustee services,” the release said.
Vanguard received the top ranking for overall satisfaction as well as satisfaction with investment performance and value for cost from plan sponsors in Boston Research Group’s 2010 Plan Sponsor Satisfaction and Loyalty Study.
Ascensus was ranked No. 1 in favorable impression of micro-plan providers in a Cogent survey published in June 2011.
Investors with guaranteed income stick with equities:
Prudential
Almost nine out of ten (84% of respondents in a new Prudential survey (“2006 to 2011: Changing Attitudes About Retirement Income”) indicated that if they had a retirement investment product with guaranteed income they would likely stay in the stock market through short-term losses, and 76% said that they would stay invested for the longer-term.
The two measures are higher than comparable survey results in 2006, by 10 and four percentage points respectively.
Milliman and EagleEye Analytics extend partnership
Milliman, Inc., the actuarial consulting firm, premier global consulting and actuarial firm, announced the next phase in an alliance with EagleEye Analytics, which provides “predictive analytics” to the insurance industry. The co-venture will provide data intended to enhance the profits of life insurers and property & casualty insurers.
Milliman’s consulting services and analytic software from EagleEye’s analytic software can be used by companies “to improve strategies for growth, identify underperforming segments, and develop priorities for re-underwriting or rate actions,” the companies said in a release.
Barron’s includes five LPL Financial advisors in its
“Top 100” list
Five advisors associated with independent broker-dealer LPL Financial were among the “Top 100 Independent Financial Advisors” recently chosen by Barron’s, the financial magazine.
The magazine rates retail financial advisors in U.S. on the basis of assets under management, revenues generated and “the quality and strength of the advisor’s overall practice,” said LPL in a release.
The LPL Financial advisors were:
Ron Carson (ranked eighth) is founder and CEO of Carson Wealth Management Group ($3.1 billion in AUM) of Omaha, Nebraska.
John Waldron (ranked 21st
) is founder and CEO of Waldron Wealth Management ($2.4 billion in AUM) of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Charles Zhang (ranked 37th) is managing partner of Zhang Financial ($1.3 billion in AUM) of Portage,
Michigan.
Susan Kaplan (ranked 41st) is president of Kaplan Financial Services ($1.3 billion in AUM) of Newton,
Massachusetts.
Robert Fragasso (ranked 97th
