Industry News 2

Prudential Real Estate Investors Expands U.S. Marketing Team February 15, 2011 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Prudential Real Estate Investors announced that Larry Teitelbaum has joined the U.S. marketing team as a Principal and that Steven McSkimming has joined as Vice President, Marketing and Client Services. Rebecc

Florida Pension Chief Cleared of Ethics Violations February 15, 2011 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The Florida Commission on Ethics has dismissed a complaint against pension chief Ash Williams, finding no indication he violated conflict of interest laws. PLANSPONSOR staff editors@plansponsor.com The e

Consultants Not Impressed by RK Technology in Picking Provider February 15, 2011 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – Consultants who advise plan sponsors on large-plan service provider selection do not regard the use of proprietary recordkeeping technology as an important consideration, a new study indicated. Fred Schneyer

White House Proposes Risk-Based PBGC Premiums February 14, 2011 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – The White House’s latest budget blueprint released Monday calls for pension insurance premiums charged by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. (PBGC) to go up by by $16 billion over ten years. PLANSPONSOR staff editors@plansp

TRIVIAL PURSUITS: When Was George Washington's Birthday? February 15, 2011 (PLANSPONSOR.com) -  On Monday the nation will observe Presidents’ Day. Nevin E. Adams editors@plansponsor.com And while in many states (and the NYSE), it’s still referred to as Washington’s Birthday, for years befor

IMHO: Service Charges Nevin E. Adams nevin.adams@assetinternational.com February 15, 2011 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - As Valentine’s Day approached, you may have seen a series of increasingly ubiquitous advertisements for a certain online florist.   Now, I’ve used that particular servi

Lawmakers Hear Public Pensions aren’t Dying February 14, 2011 (PLANSPONSOR.com) –Keith Brainard, Research Director of the National Association of State Retirement Administrators (NASRA), told the U.S. House of Representative’s Judiciary Committee that state and local government pensions are weathering the financ

Paluch Comes Onboard at Transamerica February 14, 2011 (PLANSPONSOR.com) –-Transamerica Retirement Services has hired William Paluch as regional vice president in the company’s Central Region. PLANSPONSOR staff editors@plansponsor.com A news release said he will be responsible for all sales a

SPARK Finalizes 403(b) Info Sharing Standards February 14, 2011 (PLANSPONSOR.com) –  Following a recent two-week public comment period on a draft version, the SPARK Institute has released a final updated version of its information sharing best practices for 403(b) plans. PLANSPONSOR staff editors@planspons

Funds Had Strong January Showing February 14, 2011 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – Long-term mutual funds roared back in January with nearly $30 billion in estimated inflows, according to Morningstar’s latest data. PLANSPONSOR staff editors@plansponsor.com A Morningstar news release said the January showin

US ETF Assets up to $1T February 14, 2011 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – Having broken the $1 trillion milestone in December, many questioned whether inflows into U.S. ETFs had become overheated, according to Morningstar. PLANSPONSOR staff editors@plansponsor.com Though U.S. ETF net assets under manageme

Court Rejects Immune Deficiency as ADA Protected February 14, 2011 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – A federal judge in New York has turned away arguments by a former senior hedge fund analyst that the type of immune deficiency from which she suffered qualified her for protection under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA

Lincoln Allowed ‘Causation’ Defense in Stock Drop Matter February 14 2011 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – A federal judge in Pennsylvania has ruled that Lincoln National Corp. can use as a defense in a stock drop case that its actions as fiduciaries did not cause the plaintiff's investment losses. PLANSPONSOR staff ed

EBSA Releases New Batch of ERISA Advisory Opinions February 14, 2011 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – Federal regulators have issued a series of new advisory opinions from correspondents asking for interpretations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) including the determination of potential conflicts when

U.S. ETFs See 5th Month of Positive Flows in January February 11, 2011 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Strategic Insight (SI) estimated that investors poured an additional $10.9 billion into U.S. Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) in January 2011, the fifth straight month of positive flows to ETFs. PLANSPONSOR staff edito

IRS Fees Cut for Some EGTRRA Plan Document Filing February 11, 2011 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has announced that sponsors applying to its Voluntary Correction Program (VCP) to correct the failure of not adopting a pre-approved EGTRRA plan by the April 30, 2010, deadline may now be a

Groups Offer Fiduciary Change Suggestions February 11, 2011 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – Two trade groups have applauded the U.S. Department of Labor’s proposed redefinition of a fiduciary, but still suggested a handful of potential improvements to the effort. Fred Schneyer editors@plansponsor.com The

LaVersa Takes Business Development Job at Gramercy February 10, 2011 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – Gramercy, an institutional asset management firm dedicated to investing in emerging markets, has brought on Stephen LaVersa as Head of Business Development and Client Service. PLANSPONSOR staff editors@plansponsor.com

U.S., Japan Remain Largest Pension Markets in the World February 11, 2011 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Global institutional pension fund assets in the 13 major markets increased by 12% during 2010 to reach a new high of $26 trillion according to Towers Watson’s Global Pension Assets Study . Rebecca Moore editors

Should Office Hugging be Verboten? February 11, 2011 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – The Ari Gold character on the HBO series Entourage may be fond of greeting office visitors with a manly bear hug, but a new survey finds that behavior isn’t widely endorsed by ad and marketing executives. Fred Schneyer editors@planspo