A recent academic study examined whether mutual fund companies that act as trustees for 401(k) plans “display favoritism towards their own funds.” Although its conclusions will not shock many advisers, the research can be useful as a source of independent evidence on this important issue, and reinforce the vital role that an independent adviser can play in overseeing plan investments.

Most Investment Committees spend the majority of their meeting time talking about things they can't do anything about.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg called for legislation to make New York the first U.S. city to require stores to conceal tobacco products, a week after a court struck down his ban on the sale of large sugary beverages.

Gen. McChrystal talked at MetLife’s National Benefits Symposium on Monday in Washington, divulging lessons learned from the experience that forced his resignation as commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan.

President Barack Obama named Thomas Perez, an assistant U.S. attorney general, as his choice for labor secretary in his second term. Perez would replace Hilda Solis, ensuring that the Labor Department is led again by a Hispanic, helping the president maintain diversity in his cabinet. Solis resigned in January.

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation reports that shifting its enforcement policy away from companies unlikely to default on their pensions benefited about 50 businesses by almost $1 billion since the start of a pilot program announced in November.

Last week Richard Stolz in his article, Red Alert for Fiduciaries on Plan Financial Reports properly noted that plan fiduciaries are more vulnerable than ever on a number of compliance matters, including the financial statements included with their 5500 filings.

When small business owners become successful, they become a magnet for questionable deals and speculative investments. So says Bethesda, Md., planner Jeff Leventhal, who has developed a specialized practice serving entrepreneurs.

Despite the progress made through the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act on health care access, there are challenges to come from health reform, said Rep. Ron Kind (D-Wisc.) Thursday at the AHIP National Policy Forum in Washington.

This week we’ll look at the potential for Medicaid to impact employers, the latest from AHIP on opposition to MLR regulations and a slideshow recap of ASPPA’s 401(k) Summit.

Kids are no strangers to accidents. No matter how it happens or where students are hurt on school property, schools are liable for the cost of student injuries and need to be prepared for these sometimes devastating expenses. This presents an opening for brokers, says EBA blogger Sam Fleet.

Ford Motor Co., while moving to close a growing deficit in its pension, will shift more of its plan’s assets to fixed income to shield against changes in interest rates.

The experts all seem to agree: 401(k) plans should be set up to automatically distribute small ($5K or less) balances of former employees into IRAs using well established safe harbor procedures.

More than 78% of plan sponsors are planning to maintain their offerings of stable value funds, according to the MetLife 2013 Stable Value Study

California should force state workers to use up their vacation time rather than bank it until retirement, the Legislative Analyst’s Office said after finding the cost to taxpayers has reached a historic high.

The Los Angeles Fire and Police Pension System, with about $15.7 billion in assets, is allocating about $785 million for commodities, its first investment in the asset class.

In most surveys, average defined benefit portfolios are found to outperform the average defined contribution plan account. And while that was true in Callan Associates latest “Callan DC Index” report, one category of target date fund -- 2030 funds -- performed markedly better last year than both overall DC plan assets and DB plans, presumably due to a higher average equity allocation.

Fidelity bond premiums can cost a considerable amount. Do you fully understand the kinds of losses covered by the bond or when it is appropriate to provide notice of a loss to a company’s insurer?

Governors who refuse to expand their Medicaid programs for the poor may cost employers in their states as much as $1.3 billion in federal fines, according to a new study.

Most brokers who plan to stay in the industry in 2014 are learning to embrace the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. But as two health policy minds from opposite sides of the political spectrum discussed Wednesday at America’s Health Insurance Plans conference in Washington, unknown effects of PPACA and rising costs of health care should still be on the minds of carriers and brokers alike.