The Financial Research Corp. announced Wednesday that itexpected IRA rollover contributions to total $2 trillion between2011 and 2015. Rollovers have historically been a "major source ofcontributions for IRAs," according to the report, and will continueto be a major driver.

The release noted that it was “increasingly attractive” forworkers to leave money in former employers’ retirement plans when theychanged jobs.

"There are a lot of workers where 401(k)s make up the lion'sshare of their savings," Matt Schott, vice president and retirementincome practice leader at FRC, told AdvisorOne. "Things are evolvingto where, particularly if they have a good relationship with theiremployer when they leave, it makes sense to leave assets where theyare."

Another reason declining to roll assets over is attractive toworkers is that funds often have embedded institutional pricing,Schott said, particularly in large plans, that workers may lose ifthey roll assets over.

"Additionally, there's a growing presence of advice capabilitiesin plans, which is particularly important for investors for whomtheir 401(k) is the majority of their investable assets," Schottadded.

"There's a caveat. While capabilities are being developed, it'sall controlled by the plan sponsor who has to want to make thosecapabilities available. "

Overall, assets in defined-contribution plans are estimated tobe $9 trillion, and FRC expects that will continue to grow to over$13 trillion in 2015.

The largest opportunity for asset managers, according to FRC, is adoptingopen architecture in target-date funds. Open architecture providesadvisors with an opportunity to "pry market share away" fromproprietary funds offered by recordkeepers. Furthermore, a majorityof managers surveyed by FRC agreed that open architecture providesa "substantial and growing opportunity to garner and retainassets."

In a statement, Schott called open architecture "inevitable,"adding that it is one of the major factors that will make 401(k)spopular among investors in retirement.

"There's a trend toward open architecture in target-date funds,"he told AdvisorOne. "As more firms sign up for automatic enrollment, we should continue to see growth inassets, and in turn, more pressure from participants and sponsorsto open up funds offered."

In order to capture more plan share, asset managers shouldperform to their stated objective, according to Schott. "If you sayyou're a small cap value fund, be a small cap value fund."

Managers must also keep in mind that as a result of thedownturn, sponsors and participants are more concerned with riskmanagement, Schott said. He expects stable value funds willincrease in popularity.

"Additionally, we're in a low-interest rate environment, whichis particularly important for retirees, who need strategies thatare easy to explain and can generate income," Schott said.