Investment Instruments

Strong increases in sales of annuities in the earlier parts of 2011 slowed over the course of the year, but still yielded an 8 percent growth over the previous year, according to data released Wednesday by LIMRA.

Nearly a quarter of 401(k) participants invest solely in target-date fundsa six-fold increase over the past five years, according to new Vanguard research.

Target-date funds have become popular additions to 401(k) retirement plans because they offer convenience, portfolio choices based on a participants retirement age and a commitment device for future age-based equity balancing.

About 95 percent of people with 401(k) retirement savings plans have more money in their accounts than they did at the peak of the market in October 2007

2011 served to be a banner year for ING's U.S. Retirement division, as several major corporate defined contribution plan partners renewed and brought total assets under management to more than $24 billion.

Have we finally turned the tide on the trend towards an overinflated number of options in 401(k) plans?