Practice

WASHINGTON — Sens. Maria Cantwell, D-Wa., and John McCain, R-Ariz., introduced a bill Wednesday that would repeal the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999 by restoring the walls between the banking, securities and insurance industries.

The SPARK Institute has released draft guidelines that help 403(b) retirement plans comply with new regulations, including Form 5500.

ING Group announced Wednesday it hired Lynne Ford as chief executive officer of ING Financial Solutions, the company's transformed annuity and rollover business.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has announced the Fair Fund distribution of approximately $418 million to more than a million investors who were harmed by market timing activities in certain Invesco mutual funds managed by Invesco Funds Group, Inc.

Symetra Life Insurance Company has launched a group variable annuity for the 403(b) and 457 marketplaces, with schools and nonprofits in mind.

Thirty years after the Securities and Exchange Commission allowed an exemption to help mutual funds pay for promotional sales and marketing expenses, the agency is once again considering revising or renaming these controversial charges, known as 12b-1 fees.

The House passed a regulatory reform bill 223 to 202 on Friday that would significantly reshape the financial framework.

The House of Representatives refused to give rule-making authority over many investment advisory firms to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.

Of the companies that have suspended matching contributions to their 401(k) plan, nearly half, 46.7%, have either already reinstated the match or plan to do so in the first quarter of 2010, the Profit Sharing/401k Council of America found. Among large companies, 52.7% have restored the match or plan to do so.

Participation in 401(k) plans, regardless of age or income, rises according to the size of a company, according to a report from the Employee Benefit Research Institute.