• Crain Communications: Sub-scription discounts for investment management publications.
• GetPress: Discounted rates on public relations and general communications services.
• MarketCounsel: Discounted rates exclusively for RIAs for MarketCounsel‚s ongoing compliance program.
For more information on the PracticeAdvantage Web portal, visit Fidelity Investments Institutional Brokerage Group‚s Web site at www.ibg.fidelity.com.
Solo(k) List
The Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 has allowed the creation of 401(k) plans at companies in which the owner or owners are the only employees. To make it easier to find vendors who provide such plans, being dubbed Solo(k) plans, 401khelpcenter.com has compiled a free report of the principal providers.
The report contains all the necessary information to contact and obtain specific information from each provider. Additionally, the report provides an appendix containing Web resources that fully explain how Solo(k) plans work and their advantages. The free report can be obtained at www.401khelpcenter.com/solok_vendors.html.
Schwab Manager Analysis
Charles Schwab & Co. Inc. has introduced the Money Manager Analysis and Proposal System (MMAPS) for independent investment advisors working with Schwab Institutional. The service, developed with CheckFree Investment Services, is designed to help advisors more easily identify and screen money managers and create managed account proposals for their clients. Advisors can access MMAPS through www.schwabinstitutional.com.
MMAPS enables independent investment advisors to view and compare detailed information on more than 1,500 money managers and 5,000 managed account products. The integrated proposal system provides advisors the ability to create client presentations based on specific investor information such as risk tolerance and time horizon, and view model or customized allocations of multiple managers.
For more information on Schwab, visit www.schwabinstitutional.com.
Survivorship Insurance
The Lincoln National Life Insurance Co. recently introduced new and upgraded survivorship products to its universal life and variable universal life portfolios. The universal life portfolio now features Lincoln SULDB, a survivorship product that offers low-cost wealth preservation and death benefit protection. The company also is offering an upgraded survivorship product called Lincoln SULLPR-II, which provides flexible, guaranteed lifetime coverage.