Investment Menus

Are Collective Investment Trusts a Good Choice for Your Employees’ Investment Menu?

Since its inception, the 401(k) plan has risen to become the most popular employer-sponsored retirement plan in the US. Millions of working Americans put a portion of their paycheck into a 401(k) to save for life after work. While there are many vehicles to help investors save for tomorrow, one that is growing in popularity is the use of collective investment trusts (CITs). These saving vehicles provide individual 401(k) investors the purchasing power of large institutions with improved better pricing. CITs are essentially the Costco or Sam’s Club of the investment world. Finding the vehicle that best aligns with your employee benefits should be top a priority for an organization and their committee members. 

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Which Unique Flavor is Your Investment Menu?

For many companies and organizations, the task of crafting the perfect investment menu can be an overwhelming mission; but it doesn’t need to be. It can be as simple as picking a dish from a menu. A well-made investment lineup is similar to the restaurant menu that offers just the right amount of options to make selecting the perfect dish an enjoyable experience.

When we’re constructing an investment menu for our clients, we advise committee members to build-out their investment menu to satisfy three types of investors: 1) the active investor, 2) the passive investor, and the 3) do-it-for-me investor. First and foremost, committee members need to be familiar with their plan's investment policy statement in order to design the line-up fittingly. Below, we detail a few items often included in a well-rounded investment menu.

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Target Date Funds: Tips for ERISA Plan Fiduciaries

Target date retirement funds (also called target date funds or TDFs) have become anTDF_Tips_for_ERISA_Plan_Fiduciaries increasingly popular investment option in 401(k) plans and similar employee-directed retirement plans. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) prepared the following general guidance to assist plan fiduciaries in selecting and monitoring TDFs and other investment options in 401(k) and similar participant-directed individual account plans.

Download the document here.

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