Products September 16, 2003

Nationwide Unveils Public Plan Fiduciary Product

September 16, 2003 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Government plan sponsors now have another place to turn to get helpful tips about how to better fulfill their fiduciary responsibilities.
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Nationwide Retirement Solutions has opened the curtain on its Fiduciary Fundamentals program, designed to help educate its 8,200 public-sector plan sponsors. According to a news release, Nationwide’s product is one of the first designed to specifically educate government-sector employers about their fiduciary responsibilities associated with offering defined contribution plans.

According to the firm, the product includes help in identifying plan fiduciaries and understanding basic fiduciary responsibilities, and includes a discussion of investment policy statements and participant education to help public employers be aware of best practices used to fulfill their fiduciary roles. The program includes print and electronic material as well as an interactive workshop designed for both small and large group audiences.

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The announcement said Nationwide representatives located throughout the country are available to provide a workshop program to governing boards, committees, and others to help them understand the fiduciary role of a government plan sponsor.   The handbook includes various tools that can be used as an ongoing reference as questions arise.

Benefits September 15, 2003

Pay Raises Going to the Investment Bank

September 15, 2003 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - After three years of down markets and subsequently down salaries, investment bankers could be up for a 10% to 20% pay increase by the end of the year.
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Even with this ray of compensation sunshine, clouds are still on the horizon. To reach the 10% raise, financial newsweekly The Deal, estimates individuals will have to increase their productivity at least by 50%. This is due to investment houses increasing performance-based compensation and paying smaller base salaries.

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But if investment bank employees can muster the necessary productivity increases, raises could come across the board. Financial analysts will have the potential to earn between $100,000 and $150,000, while managing directors at the top will make up to $1 million this year.

Additionally, The Deal survey found smaller investment banks with intrinsically lower overhead are now paying their top-producers just as much as the big firms. Thus, all down the Street, firms are trying to hold onto their remaining employees, signaling a dramatic decline in layoffs though 2004.

“We lack hard numbers to prove that M&A is back, but anecdotally we hear that boards and CEOs are beginning to recover from the multiple shocks of the post-bubble era. While most banks have shored up business in other areas, they can’t thrive without M&A. Coupled with this trend, we’ve seen the first evidence that Wall Street is hiring again-or at least no longer cutting,” said The Deal’s editor-in-chief Robert Teitelman.

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