Banco Popular de Puerto Rico

Recently BlackRock, the largest asset manager in the world, announced that it would follow Fidelity and Federated in making changes to its money market fund offerings. These changes are in response to SEC reform rules announced during the summer of 2014, which will permit floating NAVs, redemption fees and liquidation windows in prime money market funds.

Commentary: Employees can make the transition to high-deductible health plans and be successful when provided some key education and support from the financial services marketplace.

Commentary: Despite all the media coverage of the Affordable Care Act, there is still a fair amount of confusion and misunderstanding about the law, even among employees whose job it is to administer benefits.

Commentary: When evaluating the nonmedical space and the products with the greatest level of applicability to an employee, auto and home insurance provide significant protection, comfort and well-being to an employee and their family.

It's the “Big B, little b” conundrum. Big B benefit plans are usually subject to ERISA and require specific administration. Little B “benefits” are those perk and extras we offer to employees to be competitive in the market or to improve employee morale.

The Department of Labor finally revealed its proposed fiduciary standard rule on Tuesday after weeks of anticipation and speculation. The rule is intended to deter brokers from pushing “backdoor payments” and hidden fees in the products they recommend to clients.

After years of discussion, today the Department of Labor proposed a new rule altering the long-standing fiduciary standard and it was approved by the Office of Management and Budget. Controversial from their start in 2010, these new regulations have been framed as a way to help the middle-class avoid excessive fees and poor advice from financial professionals who do not already serve as a fiduciary.

Commentary: By shifting some of the focus to the advisers, the DOL is getting closer to the heart of the problem, but it still doesn’t go far enough.

Although interest in private exchanges is growing slowly among large employers, many still have reservations about whether exchanges will offer more value than the plans they already offer. So, how does a large employer determine if a private exchange is the right move?

Anyone who works with people knows the positive effect offering high-quality employee benefits can have on a workforce. They attract the best potential candidates for new jobs and foster a sense of loyalty and support among current staff, in addition to other things.