ADVISORY/The Principal Financial Group Lauds House Passage of Retirement Investment Advice Legislation.Business Editors ADVISORY... for Friday (May 16) --(BUSINESS WIRE) Retirement Plan Experts Available to Comment
WHO: Larry Zimpleman, Executive Vice President, Principal
Financial Group Stuart Brahs, Vice President-Federal
Government Relations, Principal Financial Group
WHAT: The Principal Financial Group(R), the nation's 401(k)
leader, is hailing the House of Representatives for passing a
bill that makes it easier for retirement plan members to get
professional investment advice. The Pension Security Act of
2003 (H.R. 1000), sponsored by Rep. John Boehner (R-OH),
updates the Employee Income Retirement Security Act (ERISA)
rules governing retirement plans, removing barriers that
restricted employers from helping workers get the information
and advice they need to make critical decisions about their
retirement savings. The Principal(R) worked for passage of the
bill, emphasizing that investment advice is a crucial element
in building a successful retirement plan and that demand for
advice is growing as a result of market volatility and growing
consumer interest in planning for retirement.
WHEN: Interviews can be arranged with experts from the Principal
Financial Group by telephone following receipt of this
advisory. Comments also can be taken from the statement below.
CONTACT: To arrange an interview with Larry Zimpleman or Stuart
Brahs, please contact Terri Shell, 515-283-8858,
shell.terri@principal.com or Susan Houser, 515-248-2268,
houser.susan@principal.com.
STATEMENT: The Principal Financial Group(R), the nation's 401(k) leader, hails members of the House of Representatives for prompt passage of the Pension Security Act of 2003 (H.R. 1000). The legislation, which passed by a vote of 271 to 157, updates Employee Income Retirement Security Act (ERISA See Employee Retirement Income Security Act. ERISA See Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). ) rules governing retirement plans, removing barriers that have restricted employers from helping workers get the kind of professional investment advice they need and want to make critical decisions about their retirement savings. In addition, the bill provides additional protections to employees by giving them more freedom to diversify diversify To acquire a variety of assets that do not tend to change in value at the same time. To diversify a securities portfolio is to purchase different types of securities in different companies in unrelated industries. company stock and more information about their retirement plans. The Principal will continue to strongly support passage of the legislation as it moves through the Senate. "American workers are faced with more investment choices than ever before and during a time of extended market volatility, but current laws restrict employers from providing individualized in·di·vid·u·al·ize tr.v. in·di·vid·u·al·ized, in·di·vid·u·al·iz·ing, in·di·vid·u·al·iz·es 1. To give individuality to. 2. To consider or treat individually; particularize. 3. advice to plan members," said Larry Zimpleman, executive vice president at The Principal(R). "This legislation gives employers more options and more flexibility in making investment advice accessible to 401(k) plan participants Plan participants Employees or other beneficiaries who are eligible to receive benefits from a company's employee benefit plan. who are increasingly asking for specific help in planning for their retirement security." The legislation allows employees to pay for investment advice with pre-tax dollars. The bill provides numerous safeguards for employees by narrowly defining the role and activities of the investment advisor Investment Advisor 1. A person making investment recommendations in return for a flat fee or percentage of assets managed, known as a commission. 2. For mutual fund companies, it is the individual who has the day-to-day responsibility of investing and monitoring the cash and . The customized advice must come through a "fiduciary advisor" who must work through mutual fund companies, banks or similar financial institutions, insurance companies and registered broker-dealers. The advisor must disclose annually information such as fees and compensation, the types of services offered, and any interest between the advisor and the investment. Employers are responsible for selecting an investment advisor who acts solely in the interest of the investor. The Principal Financial Group(R) (The Principal (R))(1) is a leader in offering businesses, individuals and institutional clients a wide range of financial products and services, including retirement and investment services, life and health insurance and mortgage banking through its diverse family of financial services The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please [ improve this article] or discuss the issue on the talk page. companies. More employers choose the Principal Financial Group for their 401(k) plans than any other bank, mutual fund, or insurance company in the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. (2). A member of the Fortune 500, the Principal Financial Group has $116.3 billion in assets under management Assets Under Management (AUM) is a term used by financial services companies in the mutual fund and money management or investment management business to gauge how much money they are managing. (3) and serves some 13 million customers worldwide from offices in Asia, Australia, Europe, Latin America Latin America, the Spanish-speaking, Portuguese-speaking, and French-speaking countries (except Canada) of North America, South America, Central America, and the West Indies. and the United States. Principal Financial Group, Inc. is traded on the New York Stock Exchange New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) World's largest marketplace for securities. The exchange began as an informal meeting of 24 men in 1792 on what is now Wall Street in New York City. under the ticker symbol Ticker Symbol An arrangement of characters (usually letters) representing a particular security listed on an exchange or otherwise traded publicly. When a company issues securities to the public marketplace, it selects an available ticker symbol for its securities which investors PFG PFG Principal Financial Group PFG Performance Food Group (Richmond, VA) PFG Pinnacle Financial Group PFG Plasma Flood Gun PFG Planning for Growth PFG Pasty Faced Geek PFG Perfluoroguanidine . For more information, visit www.principal.com. (1) "The Principal Financial Group(R)" and "The Principal(R)" are registered service marks of Principal Financial Services, Inc., a member of the Principal Financial Group. (2) CFO See Chief Financial Officer. Magazine, April/May 2002, based on total plans served in 2001 by insurance companies, banks and investment firms. (3) As of March 31, 2003 |
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