University of Miami Provides Investment Advice to 403(b) Participants

February 25, 2008 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The University of Miami announced it is offering the LTSave program to employees to help them choose investments for their 403(b) arrangement.

According to an announcement, LTSave is a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) registered investment adviser that provides portfolio management and retirement planning to individuals through employer retirement plans, financial institutions, and affinity groups. LTSave’s recommendations are presented in an easy-to-understand format so investors can easily compare their current and recommended investments and estimate the long term impact of different investment approaches.

Never miss a story — sign up for PLANSPONSOR newsletters to keep up on the latest retirement plan benefits news.

The service is Web-based and LTSave provides support on site, by telephone, and via on-line chat capabilities, the announcement said.

“LTSave simplifies the process of selecting and managing investments. It gives the plan participant a consolidated view of their retirement portfolio, which may be comprised of two or more plans and multiple investment options,” said Sunil Bhatia, LTSave Chairman, in the announcement. “Advice is personalized to reflect each investor’s circumstances and tolerance for investment risk.”

NY Judge Finds Former Marsh Execs Guilty of Bid Rigging

February 22, 2008 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - New York County Supreme Court Judge James A. Yates Friday morning found two former Marsh Inc. executives guilty of violating the Donnelly Act, New York's antitrust law, by rigging bids for insurance business.

Business Insurance reports that while William Gilman, a managing director and former executive marketing director in Marsh Inc.’s Global Broking unit, and Edward J. McNenney, a former managing director and global placement director, were found guilty of violating the state’s antitrust law, they were acquitted of all other charges, including fraud and larceny. Gilman and McNenney were accused of steering business to selected insurers and preventing a competitive bidding process.

Lawyers for the former executives argued that the men acted solely in the interest of clients, fighting AIG’s grip on the market and securing the best insurance coverage possible, according to Business Insurance.

Never miss a story — sign up for PLANSPONSOR newsletters to keep up on the latest retirement plan benefits news.

Gilman, McNenney, and a group of other former Marsh executives were indicted in 2005 on various counts of bid rigging and fraud by then-New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer and former State Insurance Superintendent Howard Mills. The officials accused the executives of colluding with employees at various insurers to rig the market for excess casualty insurance between November 1998 and September 2004.

The former executives and others involved in the alleged scheme would predetermine which carriers won business, set “targets” for the predetermined winner to submit as a bid, and obtain “losing bids” from employees at the accomplice companies, the indictment charged, according to the news report.

In January 2005, Marsh’s parent company Marsh & McLennan Companies (MMC) – a key target in the insurance bid-rigging probe -agreed to set up an $850 million fund to compensate clients hurt by business practices it called “shameful.” (See MMC Settles ‘Shameful’ Bid-Rigging Case )

«