Practice

Preemption process would be complex, more burdensome

More people, 69%, are rolling over their 401(k) savings to a new employer’s plan or an IRA when switching jobs, according to Charles Schwab’s analysis of plans between the fourth quarter of 2008 and the end of 2009.

Sometimes financial adviser clients become intimidated by the process of assessing their life’s goals and aligning them with their investment strategies.

Taking the retirement savings conversation to the dinner table might be just what Boomers need.

After the housing market crash, people are undervaluing the importance of home equity in their retirement savings.

Advisor software looks to help investors track financial goals.

The American investor is just as confused about this economic recovery as advisors are, according to data from Morningstar.

After one 2030 target-date fund lost 41% in 2008, legislators in Washington went up in arms against the fund category. One of the most controversial proposals would have limited equity exposure in such funds, but the industry fought back on the grounds the 40 Act gives asset managers leeway to determine asset allocation on their own.

Be it the dismal disappointment of seeing their 401(k) balances fall, loss of a job or a wage cut, 48% of Americans are savings less for retirement, according to a Country Financial survey of 2,340 working Americans.

The latest regulatory reform proposal from Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd would have far-reaching implications for day-to-day operations at most banks and thrifts, changing which regulators oversee them and potentially broadening the number considered systemically important.