Products September 3, 2014

Pentegra Promotes ‘Automatic’ 401(k) Plan Design Features

September 3, 2014 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Pentegra Retirement Services introduced the “Pentegra SmartPath,” a new brochure which details recommended progressive 401(k) plan design best practices.
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Pentegra says automatic plan features help sponsors better meet the needs of plan participants and drive more successful outcomes overall. The “Pentegra SmartPath” offers plan sponsors a guide to implementing these 401(k) plan design features, which can include automatic enrollment, automatic escalation of salary deferrals, auto portfolio rebalancing and utilization of qualified default investment vehicles.

Pentegra says such features help plan participants set a reasonable level of salary savings, increase their contributions over time, achieve proper investment diversification, and make better use of a plan’s investment alternatives. Placing participants in an appropriate investment option at a pre-selected contribution rate that increases annually essentially replaces some of the most important features of a defined benefit plan, such as automatic coverage and professional investment management.

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Pentegra explains in SmartPath that in order to achieve best-in-class results in terms of participant retirement readiness, plan sponsors must add more automatic plan features, which can help plan participants achieve the 10% savings rate that Pentegra believes is crucial to success.

According to Rich Rausser, senior vice president at Pentegra, “With the 401(k) plan becoming the sole retirement plan for many employees, it is more important now than ever before to ensure that it is designed to help participants meet their goals. Plan success should be measured in terms of how well your plan is able to help participants meet their retirement goals for financial security. Real plan effectiveness should be measured in terms of whether participants are on track to succeed. Staying on track is the key, which was the impetus to create our new Pentegra SmartPath.”

Rausser says the retirement plan industry has learned that education alone does not drive participant behavior. 

“Ensuring successful participant outcomes begins with progressive plan design that maximizes positive participant behaviors,” he adds. “Progressive redesign of the 401(k) plan can only help participants achieve higher levels of retirement readiness and success.”

Pentegra plans to promote the SmartPath with its clients and adviser partners over the coming months. For more information and to view the SmartPath brochure, go to http://www.pentegra.com/media/52263/Pentegra_SmartPath.pdf.

Products September 3, 2014

Indices Offer ESG Measurement for European Companies

September 3, 2014 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Thomson Reuters launched a suite of indices to measure the performance of European companies with superior ratings for environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) practices.
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The Europe indices are one part of the global family of Thomson Reuters Corporate Responsibility Indices (CRI) that provide a comprehensive, objective and transparent rules-based benchmarking solution for measuring global ESG performance, the firm says. The Thomson Reuters CRI Indices use a network of data, analytics and tools to allow investors to apply filters based on the industry, country and regional focus of a company’s operations. The indices remain objective and transparent through a greater emphasis on quantitative outcomes rather than qualitative corporate statements. Additionally, the process does not use negative screening to exclude certain industries, resulting in more precise and diversified benchmarks. 

“The Thomson Reuters CRI Europe Indices mean that investors are now able to measure the performance of European markets while being assured that all included stocks have ESG ratings superior to the weighted average for indices such as the S&P 500 or MSCI EAFE,” says Joseph LaCorte, president of S Network Global Indexes which serves as a consultant to Thomson Reuters on the development and maintenance of the indices and ratings.

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The Thomson Reuters CRI Europe Indices include:

  • Thomson Reuters CRI Europe ESG Index;
  • Thomson Reuters CRI Europe Environmental Index;
  • Thomson Reuters CRI Europe Governance Index; and
  • Thomson Reuters CRI Europe Social Index.

Live calculation of the indices began on July 28, 2014. Historical data is available from December 31, 2007. Detailed information about the Thomson Reuters CRI Europe Indices including rules, constituent weights, historical performance data and quarterly snapshots can be found on www.trcri.com.

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