Products September 5, 2002

Northern Trust To Offer Wireless 401k Access

May 21, 2001 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Northern Trust Retirement Consulting (NTRC) is cutting the wires, expanding its Retirement Passport to include wireless applications for 401(k) plan participants.
Reported by

Wireless service is expected to be rolled out in the first half of next year. Later on Northern plans to add news, quotes, and transactions to the service. 

Northern Trust Retirement Passport is a Web-based transactional service that currently provides Internet access to over 2 million 401(k) and defined benefit plan participants.

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Strategic Focus

Northern Trust undertook the development last fall as part of a corporate-wide wireless strategy, according to Greg Phillips, Chief Technologist for Northern Trust Retirement Consulting.

A prototype application that delivered basic 401(k) information to wireless devices was developed in just 30 days, according to Phillips.  Northern then plugged that application into NTRC’s existing infrastructure which supports Voice Response, Web applications and Participant Servicing systems.

NTRC is in the final stages of refining its overall strategy and product development timeline for wireless applications, targeting completion of the development of this technology by the first half of next year.


 

Deals and People September 4, 2002

Columbia Management Brings on Ex-Putnam Exec

September 4, 2002 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - A former senior money manager at Putnam Investments has been tapped to head the active equity management operation at FleetBoston Financial Corp.'s money management unit.
Reported by

Fleet Boston announced that Colin Moore, 44, would direct portfolio managers overseeing about $70 billion in actively managed equity assets at Fleet’s Columbia Management Group, Dow Jones reported.

Moore will be based in Boston and will report to Columbia’s managing director in charge of equities Roger Sayler.

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For the past two years, Moore was chief investment officer for Putnam’s international equities team and associate director of research. While there, he oversaw $3 billion in assets as well as 29 analysts and five fund managers, Dow Jones said.

The unit has about 103 funds now, and Mr. Moore told Dow Jones that the company may consolidate some of them.

He added that Columbia has also said it is interested in beefing up its team of 14 analysts, possibly hiring as many as six more.

Columbia Management Group has $160 billion in assets under management, including $50 billion in mutual-fund assets.

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