• Market Fear Prompts 401k Participants to Shift Money to Fixed Income
• New Alternative for Defined-Contribution Plans
• An Overview of the Saver's Credit
• What ERISA Says About Dividing Retirement Benefits on Divorce
• Why Models Are Used in 401k Investing
• PPA One Year Later
• ERISA §404(c) Best Practices: Myths Versus Facts
• 401k Fee Debate Carries On
• Will DC Automatic Programs Eliminate Need for Education and Advice in the Workplace?
• The Default Dilemma

From the Editor, Jeb Graham

Yes Jillian, They Should Have Known
Fallout from the sub-prime mortgage mess has strained the entire global financial system. How does one explain the cause and effect of this situation in layman’s terms, or to a college student daughter asking for an explanation of what happened? > Link To Full Story

CapTrust Financial Advisors did not assist in the preparation of the articles found on the following links, and their accuracy and completeness are not guaranteed. The opinions expressed in each report are those of the author(s) and are not necessarily those of CapTrust Financial Advisors. The material has been prepared or is distributed solely for information purposes and is not a solicitation or an offer to buy any security or instrument or to participate in any trading strategy. If mutual funds, variable annuities or unit investment trusts are discussed in any of the articles, it is important to note: MUTUAL FUNDS, VARIABLE ANNUITIES AND UNIT INVESTMENT TRUSTS ARE SOLD BY PROSPECTUS, WHICH CAN BE OBTAINED FROM YOUR FINANCIAL ADVISOR. THE PROSPECTUS CONTAINS INFORMATION ON INVESTMENT OBJECTIVES, RISKS, CHARGES AND EXPENSES AS WELL AS OTHER IMPORTANT INFORMATION ON THE INVESTMENT COMPANY. READ AND CONSIDER IT CAREFULLY BEFORE MAKING ANY INVESTMENT DECISIONS.

Market Fear Prompts 401k Participants to Shift Money to Fixed Income
Summary: Watching the Dow Jones Industrial Average plummet in August, 401k plan participants fled from the equity markets, transferring money out of equities into fixed income investments 70% of the days in the month. Located at: Plansponsor.com (free registration may be required). > Link To Full Story

Why Models Are Used in 401k Investing
Summary: Understanding why many plan sponsors are choosing models over off-the-shelf products is important for all plan sponsors and this article describes the 12 reasons why plan sponsors choose models over lifestyle or lifecycle funds. Located at: The 401k Company (PDF File). > Link To Full Story

PPA One Year Later
Summary: After just a year on the books, the Pension Protection Act of 2006 has changed life for defined contribution plan executives. The number of DC plans that have — in remarkably short order — adopted automatic enrollment and picked target-date funds as their qualified default option has shocked some industry experts. Located at: Pensions & Investments. > Link To Full Story

ERISA §404(c) Best Practices: Myths Versus Facts
Summary: After fifteen years, one must wonder why not all participant-directed plans have elected to meet the conditions of §404(c). Are there valid reasons that some have and others have not adopted a §404(c) defense, and are those reasons rooted in facts or myths? Located at: Fiduciary Risk Assessment LLC (PDF File). > Link To Full Story

401k Fee Debate Carries On
Summary: The Employee Benefits Security Administration this summer received at least 100 comments after posting a request for information earlier this year in the Federal Register regarding 401k plan fees. EBSA is collecting information from retirement industry stakeholders as part of a three-pronged approach to improve fee disclosure to plan participants, enhance reporting of fees and expenses to the government and increase disclosure to plan fiduciaries by service providers. Located at: Employee Benefit News (free registration may be required). > Link To Full Story

Will DC Automatic Programs Eliminate Need for Education and Advice in the Workplace?
Summary: Given that the Pension Protection Act addresses plan sponsors' primary concerns, do we still need to offer education and advice to employees? Can't we simply auto-enroll, auto-escalate, and auto-allocate, and call it a day—or a decade? Located at: Journal of Financial Planning. > Link To Full Story

The Default Dilemma
Summary: A year after pension reform eased concerns about automatically enrolling workers in 401ks, employers are still grappling with which investment options to use in their plans. Here, Workforce Management sorts out the positives and negatives of the Department of Labor's qualified alternatives, as well as stable-value funds. Located at: Workforce.com (free registration may be required). > Link To Full Story

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