Investment Instruments

In 2010, more than 70 million American workers did not have access to an employer-sponsored retirement plan, according to a new study from the Investment Company Institute.

J.P. Morgan Asset Management is simplifying its 401(k) plan menu. The company announced it is replacing its traditional menu of investment choices it offers to defined contribution plans and replacing it with a simplified menu of three investment portfolios: one consisting of diversified stock strategies, one with diversified bond strategies...

Overdiversification threatens the long-term returns of employee retirement accounts, but plan sponsors can help with better plan designs.

Two-thirds of defined-contribution plan participants use smartphones and one-quarter use tablets, a report released in October by Spectrem Group found.

The Principal announced this week that it is rolling out revised materials with fee disclosures for its plan sponsors ahead of the U.S. Department of Labors fee disclosure deadline of April 1, 2012.

The funded status for the typical U.S. corporate pension plan rose to 74.8 percent in October because of strong asset returns and no change in liabilities, according to a report by BNY Mellon Asset Management.