Investment Instruments

Nearly half of large companies, with more than 1,000 employees, automatically enroll employees in their retirement plans, and an additional 36 percent are considering implementing this feature, according to Diversifieds Report on Retirement Plans-2011.

BrightScope, Inc. has put on hold plans to launch an online forum where consumers can write reviews about their financial advisers.

The investment firm T. Rowe Price Group Inc. said Tuesday its third-quarter profit rose nearly 10 percent as revenue rose almost 16 percent, but the results missed Wall Street expectations and its shares fell more than 7 percent.

A new rule regulating fiduciary investment advice wont necessarily affect the way large 401(k) providers do business, but it will give many smaller companies the opportunity to bundle investment advice as part of their 401(k) and IRA plans.

Market turmoil during the summer helped push online investment broker TD Ameritrade Holding Corp's fiscal fourth-quarter profit up 44 percent.

The number of defined contribution plans offering a sustainable and responsible investing (SRI) choice could double in the next few years, according to a new study by the US SIF Foundation and Mercer.