Retirement

In all sectors of the financial services industry, there is an almost maniacal quest for "alpha," or performing above the norm. Careers, fortunes and even companies are made or broken on their ability to deliver alpha.

With millions of baby boomers on the brink of retirement and the effects of the economic meltdown in 2008 that left many employees with depleted 401(k) account balances, helping employees manage their money into retirement is a growing concern for employers.Once employees make the move from accumulating to drawing down their assets, the focus shifts from maximizing the growth rate of those assets to maximizing the ability to sustain income from them over long periods of time.

Exchange-traded funds are likely to grab a “significant” share of the 401(k) market in coming years, according to Skip Schweiss, president of TD Ameritrade Trust Co.

Four in 10 working Americans say they will never be able to afford to retire, a Harris Interactive survey of 1,005 adults for the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants found.

Retirement planning is an important issue, but according to a PricewaterhouseCoopers study, many workers remain more concerned about making ends meet.

Those who operate a retirement plan face significant potential liability and risk, cautions a new Lockton report.

Despite the warnings from financial planners, relatives and the media, nearly two-thirds of baby boomers surveyed said Social Security will be either an "extremely" or "very" important source of income when they retire.

If anybody who had something to do with employee retirement plans needed a dose of reality regarding the level of understanding and knowledge participants had about their money, how it was being invested and what the outcomes were, a recent poll provided it.

Thirty-three percent of baby boomers are worried they won’t have enough money saved for retirement, 34% do not know the age at which they will retire, and 57% plan to continue working, according to a recent survey by the Insured Retirement Institute.

Generations X and Y are warming up to investing more than any other age group, according to a survey by MFS Investments. But they remain largely reticent investors.