Good News 3: More Contributions. Employees are starting to boost their contributions to their retirement plans, says Jennifer Levitz at The Wall Street Journal. Fidelity Investments says that while people are paying less than they were a year ago, the number of people increasing their contributions was more than the number who were decreasing them in the second quarter.
Good News 4: ETFs In Plans. Sharebuilder 401(k), a provider of retirement plans for small-plan sponsors, is enhancing its all-ETF 401(k) platform. The 401kPRO program is geared toward businesses with up to 250 employees and is offered through registered investment advisors. The new service uses ETFs as underlying investments, explains Marianna Lehman for Ignites. The 16 ETFs offered include S&P 500 funds and a Treasury Inflation Protected Securities (TIPS) ETF.
This is the push that the ETF industry needs to break into the long-anticipated 401(k) retirement market. There are a few small platforms in this space serving small plans, but the ultimate goal is much bigger.
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