The 2012 Elections: Time for a Change?
Among political truisms, few are more trusted than this one: presidents do not get reelected when the economy is weak and unemployment is high. However, warns public opinion pollster Gary Langer of Langer Research Associates, anything may be possible in 2012. The economic outlook was clearly weighing against President Barack Obama’s reelection hopes as 2011 […]
Editor’s Corner
By Marijn Smit, AEGON Stable Value Solutions In pulling together this last issue of Stable Times in 2011, I was struck by both the breadth and the depth of the articles. The articles, which highlight SVIA’s Fall Forum and Annual Meeting that was held on November 16-18, addressed many of the challenges that the stable […]
SVIA Elects New Board Members
SVIA members elected four new members to the Board of Directors. Ninety-four percent of the membership voted in the election. UTC’s Joe Fazzino was affirmed by the membership as a plan sponsor member of the Board. His three year term begins on January 1, 2012. The following service firm members were elected to serve a […]
ERISA’s Increasing Importance
By Randy Myers The stock market crash of 2007-2009 threw into stark relief the shortcomings of the U.S. retirement system. Millions of Americans are responsible for their own retirement security via 401(k) plans, and as the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell nearly 50 percent, many of them saw their retirement dreams jeopardized. Now, with more […]
Dodd-Frank: An Update on Stable Value Contracts
By Randy Myers Approximately a year and a half after passage of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010, federal regulators have yet to hand down final rules on how the swaps market will be regulated. Dodd-Frank specifies that swaps—a term used broadly to cover just about any type of over-the-counter […]
Dodd-Frank: Implementing the Law through Regulations
By Randy Myers When Congress passed the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act in 2010, says Scott Talbott, it wrote a check regulators cannot cash, at least in the time frame Congress allotted. Dodd-Frank has been called the most sweeping reform of financial regulation in the U.S. since the Great Depression. To date, […]
Plan Sponsors, Service Providers Prep for New Fee Disclosure Rules
By Randy Myers Barring any last-minute postponement by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), retirement plans and their service providers will face a new set of compensation disclosure requirements beginning April 1, 2012. The new requirements are spelled out under Section 408(b)(2) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, or ERISA. They specify that “covered […]
Focusing on Stable Value Pooled Funds: Wither the 12-Month Put?
By Randy Myers Would changing one of the most common features of pooled stable value funds help bring more wrap capacity to the stable value marketplace? The feature in question is the 12-month notice that retirement plan sponsors must typically give to a pooled fund if they want to exit the fund and no longer […]
Stable Value Viewed with Increasing Favor by Plan Sponsors and Consultants
By Randy Myers In the aftermath of the credit crisis, stable value funds are looking more attractive to many retirement plan sponsors and their consultants. In the spring of 2011, The Vanguard Group surveyed sponsors of defined contribution plans and consultants who advise them. The primary goal was to gauge how much attitudes have changed […]
