Popping the Hood, IV Contains a Comprehensive Review of Major Target Date Fund Families SAN DIEGO, CA–(Marketwire – Oct 18, 2011) – BrightScope (www.brightscope.com), a leading provider of independent financial information and investment research, together with Target Date Analytics (www.ontargetindex.com), the leading independent provider of analysis, theory, and benchmarking of target date funds, today announced [...]
This week BrightScope announced the launch of BrightScope Beacon, a revolutionary new way for asset managers to understand the retirement marketplace. We are proud to announce that MFS is the first asset manager to begin using the Beacon product. We are also happy to be working with the team at Mercatus Partners who are helping [...]
BrightScope is pleased to announce the launch of the Personal 401k Fee Report, a revolutionary free tool to help all 401k participants better understand the fees they are paying within their 401k plans. The tool starts by asking participants for some basic information that we need to show participants the impact of fees on their [...]
BrightScope recently released new ratings for over 10,000 plans, and updated ratings for thousands of previously-rated plans. In so doing, we hit a major milestone: We now have over 30,000 plans rated. Our rating and analytics become more valuable to our clients and partners when there are more plans included in our system. Due to [...]
Last week the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a study on the impact of conflicts of interest on DB and DC plans. Here is a highlight: Conflicts of interest can adversely affect both DB and DC plan designs, with the primary difference being in who bears the cost of their potentially adverse effects on their [...]
Below are 10 articles, blog posts, accouncements, tweets and other miscellaneous musings we deem worthy of your attention: Attorney Stephen Rosenberg from the Boston ERISA Law Blog wrote an amazing post last week about how fiduciary responsibility might shift in an era of total fee transparency. Stephen’s blog is an absolute must for anyone following [...]
The 60 minutes episode from last Sunday includes a fascinating piece of reporting about 401k plans. Steve Kroft really captures the pain of 401k participants. There are also interesting interviews with Congressman George Miller, Attorney Brooks Hamilton and PSCA President David Wray. httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8C1ZUrYhC0
Yesterday Barack Obama announced his pick to head the EBSA. At the ASPPA conference last week many people were anxiously awaiting the nomination. It seems things at the DOL slow down a bit when the new administration isn’t fully in place. We think that this is a very important role in the administration and are [...]
BrightScope has spent the past few days at the ASPPA 2009 401(k) Summit. Brian Graff and his team at ASPPA have again assembled an amazing group of speakers. The BrightScope team has enjoyed listening to and meeting with many of the thought leaders in the 401(k) industry. Here are a few thoughts and ideas that [...]
BrightScope has been very fortunate to receive a lot of great press in the last month: Employee Benefit Adviser March 2009 Cover Story: “Guiding Lights“ BusinessWeek: “Rating Your 401(k)“ Pensions & Investments: “New ranking pits DC plan vs. DC plan“ San Diego Business Journal: “Bright(Scope) Idea: Firm Launched site to Compare 401(k)s“ CNNMoney: “Find out [...]
