Benefits January 5, 2012

Employers Would Follow Their Peers on Offering Health Benefits

January 5, 2012 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – HighRoads’ November “Pulse Survey” revealed most employers (80%) do not intend to drop healthcare coverage in 2014, when healthcare exchanges are made available under the healthcare reform law.
Reported by

However, nearly two-thirds (65%) of respondents said they would drop coverage if the majority of the companies in their industry eliminated their benefits programs. Conversely, 84% reported they would not consider removing coverage if only a few in their industry no longer offered coverage.   

Nearly all of the respondents (91%) in the study also stated they would not consider eliminating some benefits coverage currently offered based on the complexity of the new Summary of Benefits and Coverage (SBC) requirements. Employers said they are already committed to their healthcare strategy.   

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

Of those that indicated they would consider removing some current healthcare coverage (9%), the majority (75%) said increased regulation would be the main driving factor, while the remaining (25%) cited increased healthcare costs.   

Fifty-eight percent of respondents said they are prepared to produce SBCs by the original March 2012 deadline.   

The HighRoads Pulse Study was conducted in November 2011 and included a sampling of respondents from the healthcare, hospital, transportation, education, food and beverage, and energy and utility industries, with most of the respondents employed at hospitals or healthcare systems.
Products January 5, 2012

Granite Investment Advisors Launches Actively Managed Equity Value Fund

January 5, 2012 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Granite Investment Advisors introduced The Granite Value Fund, an actively managed equity value fund. 
 
Reported by

The Granite Value Fund invests primarily in mid- to large-capitalization equity securities of U.S. and foreign companies. The Fund seeks to provide long-term capital appreciation by investing in equity securities of approximately 40 companies that the adviser thinks are undervalued.

In selecting portfolio securities for the Fund, Granite will look for companies that have a unique competitive advantage; whose business models are simple and can be understood; have management teams the adviser thinks are trustworthy; have low debt and are not dependent upon borrowed money to conduct daily operations; and have the ability to generate significant free cash flow over a market cycle.

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

“Over the years we have had many prospective clients whose investment assets were not sizeable enough to be managed effectively in our separate account strategies,” said Scott Schermerhorn, chief investment officer of Granite Investment Advisors and the senior portfolio manager for the Fund. “The Granite Value Fund will be concentrated in those companies that we know extremely well and that exhibit high or improving returns on capital.”

Tim Lesko, a principal of the firm and senior member of the investment team, will also manage the Fund.

Investors can purchase the Fund directly or through brokerage platforms. The minimum initial investment for taxable accounts is $10,000 and $5,000 for non-taxable accounts.  

«