The SPARK Institute has released spreadsheet templates of its Data Layouts for Non-Registered Investment Product Disclosures to Retirement Plan Participants.

"We received feedback from our membership and others in the retirement plan community that spreadsheet templates of the Data Layouts would make it easier for, and increase the likelihood that, non-registered investment product providers would adopt the standards," said Larry Goldbrum, general counsel at The Spark Institute.  The availability of the spreadsheet templates adds another level of standardization to this process and makes it easier for companies who do not want to program for transmitting ASCII files to adopt the standards,  Goldbrum said.  The availability of the spreadsheet templates adds another level of standardization to this process and makes it easier for companies who do not want to program for transmitting ASCII files to adopt the standards, he said.

The Data Layouts are designed for use by non-registered investment product providers, like bank collective investment funds, non-registered "fund of funds," separately managed accounts and annuities, and record keepers to share information that retirement plan administrators must disclose to participants under the Department of Labor's participant disclosure regulations.  There are two templates, one for variable rate of return investments, employer securities and annuities, and another for fixed rate of return investment products.