Employee benefits

The mutual fund industry should proudly celebrate Americans' 73% approval rating for 401(k)s, according to an Investment Company Institute report, "Enduring Confidence in the 401(k) System."

The 51-year-old man who shot and killed three people, injured another five and then committed suicide in St. Louis last Thursday at an ABB Power manufacturing plant where he had worked was one of the plaintiffs in a lawsuit against ABB and Fidelity over 401(k) fees.

Since the recession hit two years ago, 80% of mutual fund firms have laid off tens of thousands of people, as total assets under management dropped from $11.999 trillion at the end of 2007 to $10.688 trillion as of October. In line with this 11% decline in assets, fees have undoubtedly plummeted by at least $1 billion a year.

As investors begin to regain their confidence in the market, financial advisers and mutual fund executives are beginning to map out changes in investor behavior and give the old rules some new twists.

Since the recession hit two years ago, 80% of mutual fund firms have laid off tens of thousands of people, as total assets under management dropped from $11.999 trillion at the end of 2007 to $10.688 trillion as of October. In line with this 11% decline in assets, fees have undoubtedly plummeted by at least $1 billion a year.

Fidelity Investments has expanded the investment options on its Advisors 401(k) platform, in an effort to help its advisors boost their share of the advisor-sold market.

A growing number of employers are planning to incorporate annuities into their 401(k) plans as companies look for ways to provide workers with steady benefits in retirement, according to a survey by Watson Wyatt.

Putnam Investments announced Wednesday that its suite of target Absolute Return Funds has surpassed $1 billion in assets, less than a year after they were launched.

Many target-date retirement funds are still heavily invested in risky, high-yield junk bonds in order to give investors the yields they promise, Bloomberg reports.

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.

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.

Generation Y, those between 22 and 33, have taken the financial crisis to heart and have become more conservative about their finances, Fidelity found in a TNS Global survey of 1,017 people in that age bracket who hold a job and earn at least $15,000 a year.

In light of the economic crisis that exposed companies thought to be safe and well-established, but that had actually taken on far too much risk, New York Life Insurance has introduced a new stable-value offering for defined contribution plans and advisers that underscores its AAA rating.

Managers of 529 college-savings plans have always competed on fees, but the latest round of the bidding war promises to be the most intense.

John Hancock Retirement Plan Services launched an enhanced website for financial representatives to help them support clients and grow their business. The site has improved navigation, updated materials and tools for creating reports for prospects and clients. The site also makes it easy for advisers to compare and contract Hancock investment options.

Fidelity Investments has promoted Jacques Perold from chief operating officer of its asset management unit to chief of the $1.4 trillion division. Meanwhile, Michael Wilens, the former head, has moved over to the retirement unit as head of client management, reporting to Abigail Johnson, head.

Forty percent of employers surveyed by the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans said they believe the worst of the economic crisis is over. Twenty-seven percent said they did not think we are out of the woods, and 33% were neutral.

Two college-savings companies are borrowing a page from the consumer cash-back loyalty playbook, offering customers rebates on services including refinancing mortgages or opening online bank accounts. Futuretrust, a unit of Destination Maternity Corp., and Upromise Investments have partnered with a series of other financial services companies to offer rebates that can be swept into section 529 college-savings plans.

Despite the financial services industry's downsizing, New York Life Investments is building up a sales force to target the defined contribution market.