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Cooperatives RSS FeedsIRA INVESTOR INFO - From ICI and SIFMA: A new database that collects account-level data of more than 10 million individual retirement accounts (IRAs) is providing unique, new insights into IRA investor demographics and activities. The IRA Investor Database - a joint project by the Investment Company Institute (ICI) and the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) - is designed to shed light on key determinants of IRA contributions, rollover and withdrawal activity, and the types of assets that investors hold in these accounts. The new database supplements existing household surveys and IRS tax data about IRA investor...Feed Source: MILITARY FINANCIAL COUNSELING - From FINRA: Nearly 200 military spouses throughout the U.S. and overseas have been awarded the FINRA Investor Education Foundation's 2010 Military Spouse Fellowship. The fellowship gives spouses the training they need to earn the Accredited Financial Counselor (AFC) designation, which gives them marketable job skills and provides them with the knowledge and tools they need to help military families overcome financial challenges. The program is administered in partnership with the Association for Financial Counseling and Planning Education and the National Military Family Association. The fellowship covers the costs associated with completing the AFC training and testing. The 184 military spouses who received the fellowship will immediately ... MONEY NIGHT TALK - From CEE: American Express, personal finance expert Jean Chatzky and the Council for Economic Education (CEE) announced the launch of "The National Money Night Talk." This new program, which culminates on September 16, encourages families around the country to sit down and talk about money and financial responsibility. "We are at a pivotal teachable moment in our history," said Nan J. Morrison, President and CEO of the Council for Economic Education. "Even with classroom instruction on economics and personal finance, it is vital for parents to discuss financial responsibility with their children." To help parents get prepared to have "the talk," American Express and Chatzky have created a new online resource now ava... STRETCHING YOUR NEST EGG - From AAII: Having suffered severe losses in their retirement nest eggs last year, many retirees living off of their savings are reviewing their investment and spending plans, searching for new plans of action to ensure their savings can sustain them throughout their lifetime. There is no question that bear markets can be devastating-particularly for new retirees-if action is not taken to compensate for the loss. The sooner you adjust, the better. But what is your best course of action? While the instinct may be to flee the risk of equity markets, postpone retirement or go back to work, an alternative strategy would be to consider temporarily reducing annual withdrawals from your nest egg. A new T. Rowe Price retirement income study compared various withdrawal adjustment strategies... INSIDE TARGET-DATE FUNDS - From EBRI: The use of target-date funds, a relatively new 401(k) plan option, is more likely among participants who are younger, have lower account balances, and have shorter tenure at their current job, according to a study released by the nonpartisan Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI). The reason for this pattern is that is new workers are the most likely to be automatically enrolled in their employer's 401(k) plan, with a target-date fund (TDF) often being the default option. The EBRI analysis also shows that target-date users are likely to stick with their fund over time. Target-date funds are designed to make it easier for Americans to save for retirement by providing simplicity for investors. The name of these funds usually i... THE FINANCIAL REFORM BILL AND YOU - The financial reform bill recently signed into law is an attempt to address some of the problems that contributed to the 2008 financial crisis. The legislation, officially known as the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, is considered the most wide-ranging overhaul of the U.S. financial system since the aftermath of the Great Depression. Because the problems it addresses are complex, the legislation itself is complex; much of the real impact will be felt only after regulations are developed to implement the law's provisions. Also, some provisions will have a direct impact on individuals and investors; others will primarily affect the ways in which Wall Street functions. AICPA's 360 Degrees of Financial Literacy offers a brief summary if you want to learn about how you may be affected ... SIPC HOSTS ONLINE PUBLIC FORUM - The Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC), which maintains a special reserve fund mandated by Congress to protect the customers of insolvent brokerage firms, will hold its first-ever online forum at 8 p.m. EDT/5 p.m. PDT on September 14, 2010 at http://www.SIPCModernization.org. The "listening post" session is the first of two major national public forums focused on soliciting input about the modernization of SIPC. The effort is part of the SIPC Modernization initiative launched on June 17, 2010. The two planned online forums are part of a full-scale review of the operations of SIPC, which has not been the focus of major new legislation in 30 years ... KEEPING YOUR RETIREMENT SAVINGS INTACT - A recent report by a major retirement plan provider revealed an uptick in the number of investors dipping into their 401(k)s through either loans or hardship withdrawals. If you really need the money and cannot access credit elsewhere, then borrowing from your 401(k), or taking a withdrawal, might be your best option. FINRA points out several good reasons to keep your retirement savings intact if at all possible. Before tapping your retirement savings, consider these reasons, among others: the money you withdraw will not grow if it isn't invested; repayments are made with after-tax dollars that will be taxed again when you eventually withdraw them from your account; the interest is never deductible even if you use the money to buy or renovate your home ... BEWARE FAKE SIPC CHECKS - The Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC), which maintains a special reserve fund mandated by Congress to protect the customers of insolvent brokerage firms, again warned that consumers and job seekers should not accept SIPC checks that are presented online or in person by con artists seeking to buy personal goods or engage individuals for work. SIPC officials said the fake checks include an actual SIPC account number that is used only for deposits. No checks of any kind are issued on the account in question. In over a dozen cases so far, one or more individuals have presented the phony SIPC checks to "pay" for an item on Craigslist or in face-to-face transactions, or to "pay" for services advertised on Craigslist ... PROTECTING SENIOR INVESTORS - The Securities and Exchange Commission, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) updated a joint report that outlines practices being used by financial services firms to strengthen their policies and procedures for serving senior investors as they approach and begin retirement. The SEC, FINRA and NASAA first published the report in 2008 to highlight proactive steps being taken by some financial services firms in serving senior customers. It was intended to assist the overall industry in enhancing compliance, supervisory and other practices related to older investors. The 2010 Addendum summarizes additional practices now being used by ... Copyright © 2012, TopLooker.com. All Rights Reserved. |
