Administration April 26, 2010

Cogent Finds IRA Assets Surpassed 401(k) Assets

April 26, 2010 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - For the first time since Cogent Research has been tracking investor allocations, it says wealthy Americans now hold more assets in IRAs than in workplace-based retirement accounts like 401(k)s and 403(b)s.
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A new report, 2010 Investor Assets in Motion: IRA & Retirement Marketplace Opportunities, scheduled to be released next week by Cogent Research, indicates that while ownership of both types of retirement accounts is down since 2006, ownership of workplace-based retirement accounts has decreased much more dramatically. Since 2006 IRA ownership has slid by just 5%, while ownership of workplace-based retirement accounts has decreased by almost one quarter (23%), according to a press release.  

Cogent said it appears that the majority of dollars that investors formerly allocated to employer-sponsored retirement plans have been funneled into IRA accounts and, to a lesser extent, bank accounts. This shift has resulted in the proportion of assets affluent Americans hold in IRAs (31%) to surpass the proportion of assets they hold in 401(k) and other employer-based retirement plans (25%).  

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In addition, while fewer investors may have assets sitting in former employer retirement plans today (24% in 2009 vs. 31% in 2008), those who still do are even more likely to plan to rollover those assets into an IRA (45% in 2009 vs. 39% in 2008).  

Cogent also said an analysis of nineteen leading distributors reveals several big winners in the ongoing race to attract IRA assets. On average, over the past year firms managed to increase the proportion of primary client assets held in IRAs accounts by 15%.   

Besting their peers, seven firms were able to successfully increase the average proportion of primary client assets in IRAs by 20% or more: Fidelity, ING, Merrill Lynch, Raymond James, USAA, Vanguard, and Wells Fargo Advisors/Wachovia. Overall, nine firms hold one third or more of their individual primary clients’ assets within IRA accounts: Ameriprise, Charles Schwab, Edward Jones, Fidelity, LPL, Merrill Lynch, Raymond James, UBS, and Vanguard.  

Cogent’s findings are based on a nationally representative sample of 4,000 affluent and high net- worth Americans. The report will be available from http://www.cogentresearch.com.

Products April 26, 2010

Securian GPS Helps Retirees Find their Way

April 26, 2010 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – A new product from Securian Financial Group is designed to help workers plan their retirement years, the company said.
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Securian’s Retirement GPS eases retirement planning by breaking it into three stages, according to a news release:

Gearing up. The first phase includes the last few years of full-time employment and the first few years of retirement. This is when people are thinking hard about how to structure their retirement income or make up a shortfall.

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Taking off. This is the most exciting period of retirement, when people dive into the activities they didn’t have time for when they were fully employed. Though the retirement income strategy has been fully developed, this is the time for adjustments as people establish their retirement lifestyles.

Cruise control. Late retirement is when life quiets and medical issues come to the fore. By this time, personal directives are in place, and people make decisions about the inheritance or charitable legacy they will leave and take steps to ensure their heirs receive it intact.

Consumers can order the Retirement GPS guide and find a local Securian adviser who can help them develop a lifetime income strategy, the company said.  More information is at http://www.securian.com/RetirementGPS/index.htm.

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