Showing entries with the topic “Investments”.
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May 2019The Future of Retirement Plans
In our Revamping Retirement podcast, we have been addressing the evolution of the retirement plan landscape over the past 25 years. And a lot has changed - from technology, plan design and investments, to, of course, fees. But what might the next 25 years have in store for the future generation of r…
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May 2019The Stock Market Darlings: Then and Now
In the recent episodes of our Revamping Retirement podcast, we have discussed the changes in retirement plans since I started working for Cammack Retirement Group way back in December of 1991 (yes, I’m old!). As you may imagine, things are quite different - from plan design, to investments, to techn…
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Feb 2019Beware of these Heavily-Marketed Recordkeeper Products
I often have retirement plan sponsors ask me, “What is your opinion of Product X?” More often than not, it is a product that has been aggressively promoted by their retirement plan recordkeeper. Now, to be fair to retirement plan recordkeepers, with lower fees and declining margins, they are in an i…
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Jan 2019The Stock Market Soap Opera and Some Basic Math
The volatility of the stock market has become a major news story lately. But, as we well know, there is a tendency for the media to exaggerate. So, is the current stock market “crisis” real - or just a soap opera? And, if the “crisis” has substance, should it cause concern for retirement plan invest…
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Nov 2018Please Give This to Any 20-something Who is Not Saving for Retirement
In this week's Top of Mind, Mike Webb strongly urges people to start saving for retirement prior to age 30.
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Apr 2018Three Things to Think About Besides Retirement Plan Investments
Plan sponsors often have an unhealthy obsession with assembling the ideal array of plan investments. However, investment array selection, as well as the inherent agonizing over which funds to put on watch, which to replace, etc., should be relatively low on a plan sponsor’s list of priorities. Wh…
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Apr 2018Fee Leveling, Simplified
In last week’s Top of Mind, we attempted to simplify the concept of revenue sharing in retirement plans. This week, I will attempt to build upon that by demystifying the even more elusive practice known as fee leveling. What is fee leveling? Last week, we explained how different …
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Apr 2018Revenue Sharing, Simplified
As I was preparing once again to speak about revenue sharing, I encountered my recurring fear that almost everyone was going to completely lost. Because, let’s face it, revenue sharing is NOT an easy concept to understand, and one about which most people do not care to learn! However,…
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Nov 2017Proprietary Funds: The New Lightning Rod for 403(b) Plans?
In the world of 403(b), variable annuities have been a lightning rod for criticism by anyone paying attention. And, for good reason, with the caveat that there are some variable annuities offered by low-cost providers that shouldn’t be lumped in with the rest. However, in the large 403(b) p…
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Sep 2017Collective Investment Trusts (CITs) and 403(b) Plans: An Update
Recently, we wrote a Top of Mind post about how the University of California (Cal) took the bold step of adding CITs to its 403(b) plans. For decades, CITs have been the sole domain of annuities and mutual fund products. As we noted, while it’s been known that CITs are a permissible inve…
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