CitiStreet Expands Fiduciary Services
QUINCY, MA, December 18, 2007 -– CitiStreet is assembling and adding to its wide array of fiduciary services in a program called PlanFIRST , a road map to safely and effectively guide its customers through an increasingly complex regulatory environment, it was announced today.
The program will include an online Website, PlanFIRST Online, which will go live toward the end of the year or the beginning of 2008.
"PlanFIRST demonstrates our ongoing commitment to our customers and their participants. It helps plan sponsors with fiduciary support, reporting and disclosure of fees, service standards and investment strategies. It guides them toward prudent and informed decisions for their plans and participants in all the key fiduciary areas," said Sandy McCarthy, CitiStreet president.
In the area of fiduciary support, CitiStreet helps sponsors identify and manage fiduciary risk related to ERISA roles, duties and governance requirements and emerging legislation and regulatory guidance. It also provides full reporting and disclosure support.
CitiStreet will continue to deliver fiduciary services, especially in the areas of reporting and disclosure, through its plan sponsor Web site, Sponsor ConnectSM and through face-to-face meetings. But all the fiduciary materials will also now be available at one online resource center, PlanFIRST Online.
"We have always been at the forefront of the industry with proactive compliance solutions, investment flexibility and comprehensive disclosure. We are an industry leader in comprehensive direct- and indirect-fee disclosure for services and we are always ready to discuss every aspect of our business with our customers," said McCarthy.
Other service areas include:
- Investment Flexibility-CitiStreet's true open architecture adapts readily to creating an investment lineup responsive to participants' strategic needs.
- Service Standards-CitiStreet works with sponsors to establish, monitor and report clear and measurable standards for service and quality to demonstrate value.
- Trend Analysis and Communication-CitiStreet identifies, quantifies, evaluates and provides insight on emerging trends to enable strategic plan design.
PlanFIRST Online's proprietary collection includes fiduciary guides for corporate and governmental sponsors and their counsels, compliance checklists, sample policy statements, sample disclosures, white papers, timely and topical newsletters and Webcast replays and transcripts.
"PlanFIRST encapsulates the high standards of service and care that we deliver to our clients. It brings together in a single concept how we support plan sponsors as fiduciaries," said Gary Jenkins, CitiStreet general counsel. "This support includes establishing a fiduciary standard of care for even non-fiduciary recordkeeping services."
"PlanFIRST establishes documented accountability through measurable standards of service and quality," said McCarthy. "With PlanFIRST, everyone benefits. At CitiStreet, we put our sponsors first, making it possible for them to put their plans and participants first, in keeping with their fiduciary responsibilities."
About CitiStreet
CitiStreet, one of the largest global benefits delivery firms in the United States, is headquartered in Quincy, Mass. CitiStreet has 3,000 employees at offices in Somerset, N.J., Jacksonville, Fla., Lewiston, Maine, Boston and field offices around the nation. It also has a division, CitiStreet Australia, with offices in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne. CitiStreet serves more than 11 million participants and administers more than $230 billion in assets in the United States for defined contribution, defined benefit and health and welfare plans of corporate, government, health care, Taft-Hartley and not-for-profit organizations. It also serves more than 1 million participants and administers about $20 billion in assets outside the United States. CitiStreet is a 50/50 joint venture between State Street Corp. (NYSE:STT) and Citigroup (NYSE:C). For more CitiStreet information, visit the Web site at www.citistreetonline.com.
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