Hope is the crutch of an ineffective manager, someone who invites otherwise avoidable litigation.

Probably you. The Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) is moving forward in its quest to define who is a fiduciary for various client/adviser transactions.

New York City’s police pension won’t sell about $10 million in gun-related holdings, the president of the biggest officer union says.

A recent Schwab survey of planning students at Texas Tech found that the lure of client relationship management and working in-person with clients remains high, with nearly half of students citing the latter as a priority.

Mercer, Lockton, Burnham Benefits, Towers Watson and Pentegra all announce personnel moves. Check to see if a colleague is mentioned today.

The industry has gone through an evolution in the way it delivers services to clients, the way businesses operate and the state of the competitive market. At some point in there, value added services became all the rage. But now we have a problem, says EBA Blogger Wendy Keneipp.

Many employer plan sponsors are expressing a high level of interest in adding Roth 401(k) in-plan conversions as an option to their 401(k) plans in 2013. The recently passed Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 made it possible for retirement plan participants to convert existing 401(k) plan balances to Roth 401(k) balances, whether or not the participant is distribution eligible.

The challenges confronting many retirement plan advisers are familiar.

New 401(k) loan transactions were down approximately 5% year-over-year, and total hardship and in-service withdrawals were down nearly 8%, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s most recent 401(k) Wellness Scorecard, released Thursday.

People who suffer from insomnia may have an increased risk of heart failure, according to the largest study ever to investigate the link.

In 2025, three in four working Americans will be Millennials. By helping them manage stress and anxiety in their 20s and 30s with EAPs, they’ll be more productive and better-equipped to assume leadership positions down the road.

Pressure is growing to change incentives for retirement savings as U.S. lawmakers look for revenue, and top earners may pay the price.

Try a little “brain-based sales and marketing,” suggests ASSPA’s Lisa Allen. Speaking about building a loyal client base this week at the ASSPA/NAPA 401(k) Summit, Allen offered the view that plan sponsors typically choose to work with an adviser because they find a “good personal fit,” then retroactively confirm that all of the objective and numbers-based reasons for that decision are in line.”

Principal Financial Group Inc., the seller of life insurance and retirement products, agreed to buy a 55% stake in Liongate Capital Management LLP to expand in hedge funds and meet demand for alternative investments.

It’s nothing new that Americans are working and living longer. But with 401(k)s, IRAs, Roth IRAs and the old money-under-the-mattress plan, what could possibly be added to secure Americans’ financial security? Pension Advisory Group thinks it has the answer — a new group long-term disability insurance product.

A new study released by insurance industry researcher LIMRA shows that half of defined contribution employees are still not aware of how much they pay in annual fees and expenses, despite fee disclosure requirements added in 2012.

Guest blogger Noreen Oswald is a senior at Temple University majoring in Risk Management &Insurance with a track in employee benefit management. She visited February’s Workplace Benefits Renaissance conference with a group of fellow students and EBA invited her to share her hopes for a future in the industry.

At the ASPPA 401(k) conference, going on this week in Las Vegas, financial advisers said that too often, plan sponsors pick their recordkeeper and then default to the investments options offered, when it should be the other way around.

There is a general belief that advisers acting as fiduciaries to a 401(k) plan would violate ERISA if they advise participants on IRA rollover opportunities and wind up managing those rolled over funds. That opinion is not surprising, according to ERISA attorney Marcia S. Wagner of the Wagner Law Group. But it is not necessarily correct.

Once the province of only large plans, ERISA Accounts have found their way into the small plan market. And if you’re an advisor working in that market, it can be an important tool for you to add value to plan sponsors.