As the market marches toward recovery, ING DIRECT’s ShareBuilder 401(k) – an all-exchange traded fund (ETF) 401(k) plan provider – is feeling good about the year that just wrapped and the year that lies ahead.
“We had a great year last year and beat all our forecasted numbers,” says Stuart Robertson, general manager and principal. “We’re definitely seeing small businesses coming back. That’s a good sign; they’re feeling more and more financially stable.”
The pickup in business has improved into the new year so far, as well.
“We think given the economic data, this year should be better than last.”
One reason for the optimism could be that the provider recently added four low-cost Vanguard ETFs to its lineup as part of its regular review of the offerings.
“We’re a registered investment advisor and we serve as the investment manager for all our plans, so we review the lineup with the investment policy on a regular basis,” says Robertson.
ShareBuilder’s Investment Committee reviews its offerings quarterly to see whether the funds are satisfying the investment policy’s core objectives on diversification and low cost. If improvements can be made, then that’s what happens.