Some of the key findings of the study include:

Overall, many survey respondents have some misconceptions about the point at which the asset allocation of a TDF stops changing.
Many respondents believed that the target date is the point at which the fund is at its most conservative allocation and that the allocation stops changing thereafter.
Understanding that the allocation continues to change after the target date was greater among those who viewed the two documents containing the glide path illustration than among those who viewed the two documents that did not contain the glide path illustration.
Only 36 percent of respondents correctly indicated a TDF does not provide guaranteed income in retirement.
The 50 to 65 age group tended to be more knowledgeable about TDFs, but there was not much variation in comprehension between 21 to 34 year olds and 35 to 49 year olds.
Respondents who own TDFs were more knowledgeable than those who do not own TDFs. Among respondents who own TDFs the most knowledgeable were individuals who chose their investments in their employer-sponsored retirement plan ("employer-sponsored only; not default"); they scored nominally higher than those who hold TDFs in IRAs or other accounts and those who invested in a TDF by default ("employer-sponsored only; default").

As of October 2011, assets in target-date funds had reached approximately $360 billion, Rominger said in her December speech. The new cash flow that target-date funds netted in 2010, she said, was more than 10 times what it was 10 years ago.

Instant Insights /

'Target' of TDFs confuses investors, SEC finds

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