Principal Broadens Services for Retirement Plan Fiduciaries
DES MOINES, IA, January 9, 2012 -- As plan fiduciaries continue to seek help managing the risks and responsibilities of operating a retirement program, demand for fiduciary support and protection is only growing. To help financial professionals, third party administrators and their plan sponsor clients, the Principal Financial Group(R) announces the expansion of investment fiduciary support to soon include ERISA 3(21) and 3(38) fiduciary services provided by Wilshire Associates Incorporated (Wilshire(R)).
The new services from Wilshire will enhance current support by providing a level of fiduciary protection for selection and monitoring of investment options for retirement plans.
All financial professionals will have the option of making these Wilshire-supplied services available to their clients, including RIAs, who may wish to supplement their current services to clients.
"With almost 40 years of experience providing investment consulting services and analytics, Wilshire brings highly respected objectivity and expertise in their ERISA 3(21) and 3(38) fiduciary services," said Tim Minard, senior vice president of distribution at The Principal(R). "We are very pleased to make their impressive services available to retirement plan clients of The Principal. By providing access to these services from Wilshire, The Principal is making available flexible and comprehensive investment fiduciary support to our retirement plan clients."
The 3(21) and 3(38) fiduciary services available through Wilshire extends enhanced support to plan sponsors that:
- Includes coverage across multiple plan types.
- Complements the due diligence process already in place for hiring and monitoring managers of Sub-Advised Investment Options available through The Principal.
- Is flexible, allowing the fiduciary to choose from services which address the following areas of concern: -- Broad Range Requirement under 404(c).
- Qualified Default Investment Alternatives.
- Prudent monitoring on an investment-by-investment basis.
The financial protection available through Wilshire covers plan sponsors. A level of indemnification protection through Principal Life Insurance Company may extend to financial professionals whose clients use ERISA 3(21) and/or 3(38) fiduciary services provided by Wilshire.
"We are pleased to offer our 3(21) and 3(38) fiduciary services to retirement plan clients of The Principal and their financial professionals," said Jamie Ohl, President of Wilshire Funds Management, a business unit of Wilshire. "We believe the rigor of our selection and monitoring process will serve as a great complement to the platform, investment fiduciary support, and manager due diligence process currently provided to retirement plan clients of The Principal."
In addition, to further assist financial professionals and their clients, The Principal also created a new fiduciary guide that explains in practical terms what it means to be a fiduciary under Section 3(21) or an investment manager under Section 3(38).
For more news and insights from The Principal, connect with us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/ThePrincipal .
About the Principal Financial Group
The Principal Financial Group(R) (The Principal (R)) is a global investment management leader including retirement services, insurance solutions and asset management. The Principal offers businesses, individuals and institutional clients a wide range of financial products and services, including retirement, asset management and insurance through its diverse family of financial services companies. Founded in 1879 and a member of the FORTUNE 500(R), the Principal Financial Group has $320.8 billion in assets under management and serves some 17.8 million customers worldwide from offices in Asia, Australia, Europe, Latin America and the United States. Principal Financial Group, Inc. is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol PFG. For more information, visit www.principal.com .
About Wilshire
Wilshire Associates Incorporated, a leading global, independent investment consulting and services firm, provides consulting services, analytics solutions and customized investment products to plan sponsors, investment managers and financial intermediaries. The firm was founded in 1972, revolutionizing the industry by pioneering the application of investment analytics and research to investment management for the institutional marketplace. Based in Santa Monica, California, Wilshire provides services to clients in more than 20 countries representing approximately 600 organizations, representing assets totaling more than U.S. $6 trillion. Wilshire(R) is a registered service mark of Wilshire Associates Incorporated, Santa Monica, California. All other trade names, trademarks, and/or service marks are the property of their respective holders. Wilshire is not an affiliate of The Principal. For more information, visit www.wilshire.com .
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