You are viewing all posts tagged with "retirement services"

product manager, SunGard’s Omni Data Validation Web

20
Apr
2012

Creating efficiency in payroll processing

Contributor:

No matter how you differentiate your services from your competitor’s, every recordkeeping operations provider is faced with the repetitive task of collecting, reformatting, validating, and posting payroll data. Finding ways to process payrolls more efficiently is a personal passion of mine. I am constantly looking for ways to improve the data collection process. I also look to find ways to empower the person submitting the data with the information they need to adjust their payroll data in response to validation results. With something as large as an employer’s monthly 401k contribution remittance at stake, finding every opportunity to efficiently collect and validate payroll data is more important than ever.... read more

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Posted in Technology, Wealth Management |

vice president, SunGard’s wealth management business

16
Mar
2012

Participant directed investments: good, bad, indifferent

Contributor:

Imagine a 401(k) plan that does not allow participants to direct the investment of their accounts, a plan where trustees make investment decisions on behalf of the plan as a whole. Some might consider that blasphemy. Participants want – no, they have a right – to direct the investment of their retirement accounts. As radical as it sounds, it was not that long ago when participant investment direction was rare. Technology has been the single biggest factor in enabling plans to permit participant directed investments. Throw in a threat of fiduciary liability, some marketing, and we have a train that cannot be stopped. I am not suggesting that this train needs to be stopped. I do, however, think it is time to step back and take a look at where this train is headed. ... read more

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Posted in Risk & Reg Reform, Wealth Management |

partner, SunGard’s Wealth Management Global Services

9
Mar
2012

Is there an advisor in the house?

Contributor:

The human body is a highly complex, self-contained entity that relies on several subsystems to function. A failure in any one of these systems could create a real crisis. No one would like being told that his/her brain, cardio-vascular, endocrine, nervous or other system might stop functioning or begin to “over function.” The results could be disastrous. Like the human body, the global economy is an extremely complicated organism that has many different parts. Regulation, taxation, business climate, employment, politics and other systems -- all have the potential to dysfunction, creating a crisis that can impact your wealth.... read more

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Posted in Technology, Wealth Management |

manager, product solutions, SunGard’s wealth management business

15
Feb
2012

Participation versus investment vehicles: where should we focus?

Contributor:

According to InvestorWords.com, a defined contribution plan is “A company retirement plan, such as a 401(k) plan or 403(b) plan, in which the employee elects to defer some amount of his/her salary into the plan and bears the investment risk.” While there are many other sources for this definition, I chose this one for a reason. The primary purpose for participating in a defined contribution plan is for participants to save for their own retirement. While I sometimes understand people need to be protected from themselves, participants should be responsible for bearing the investment risk, rather than the plan. Plenty of rules and regulations are already in place to protect the interests of plan participants.... read more

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Posted in Risk & Reg Reform, Wealth Management |

senior vice president, product marketing, SunGard’s wealth management business

7
Feb
2012

Does the disclosure of fees mean huge savings for millions of Americans with a 401k?

Contributor:

According to a recent Wall Street Journal article 401k Plans Step into the Sunshine: New Labor Department Rules Will Require Fee Disclosures, “The rules governing America’s most popular retirement vehicle are about to change, and that could mean huge savings for millions of workers building nest eggs for the future.”... read more

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Posted in Risk & Reg Reform, Wealth Management |