Investment News articles from August 2004

Investment News archives from August 2004

Funds of funds get OK for variable products.(Short Interests)
August 9, 2004... Byline: Sara Hansard WASHINGTON - A private-letter ruling issued by the Internal Revenue Service in May could result in an increase in the use of funds of mutual funds in variable products. The tax ruling, which doesn't identify the...

With Uri Landesman of Federated Investors Inc.(One on One)
August 9, 2004... Byline: Jeff Benjamin When it comes to hedge funds, Uri Landesman enjoys the unique perspective of having been there and done that. He spent four years testing the waters of alternative-class money management with two different hedge...

IRS unveils its revised five-year strategic plan.(Tax Watch)
August 9, 2004... Byline: Mark E. Battersby The Internal Revenue Service recently unveiled an updated strategic plan that outlines three broad goals for the agency through 2009. Among those goals are to improve service to taxpayers, enhance enforcement of...

Corporations, take a cue from Microsoft.(Editorials)
August 9, 2004... Cash-rich U.S. companies must begin to share the wealth. More of these companies must initiate, or increase, dividend payments as Microsoft Corp. has done. They should give the cash back to the shareholders and let them reinvest it in ways...

Wirehouse, regional reps face uncertain times; Brokers get creative to build their businesses.(Broker-Dealers)
August 9, 2004... Byline: Bruce Kelly NEW YORK - Although the major market indexes were up more than 20% last year, the number of employee retail brokers at wirehouses and regional firms fell slightly. But as the stock market rallied strongly last year,...

Merrill teams with MetLife to offer annuity product; Group option geared for ERISA plans.(News)
August 9, 2004... Byline: Phyllis Feinberg NEW YORK - The retirement group of Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. in New York has joined with Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. to bring 401(k) plan participants a fixed, deferred group annuity investment option. While...

Private financing may be boon for large estates; Cash is king for the transactions.(News)
August 9, 2004... Byline: Liz Skinner WASHINGTON - Financial advisers looking for new ways to help wealthy individuals best structure their estates may want to look to the clients themselves. The concept is called self- or private financing. In such an...

Mutual fund with a one-word strategy: Diversify.(Street Wise)
August 9, 2004... Byline: Jeff Benjamin As diversification goes, it doesn't get much better than 380 stocks and more than 80 individual bonds inside a single mutual fund. That is the thinking behind the management of the $128 million Munder Balanced...

Splitting headache?(Short Interests)
August 9, 2004... Byline: Sara Hansard WASHINGTON - So-called charitable split-dollar plans have been dealt a probable death blow by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco. In a decision handed down July 8, the court ruled that taxpayer...

Parent Fidelity hurt by a wild child.(Reverse Spin)
August 9, 2004... Byline: Rick Miller Fidelity Investments' clean record has been shredded, thanks to some of its brokerage employees. The Boston-based mutual fund giant's Fidelity Brokerage Co. subsidiary agreed last week to pay $2 million to settle...

Thomson magazine feels heat.(Short Interests)
August 9, 2004... Byline: Meredith Deliso NEW YORK - Thomson Financial of New York is in the hot seat. Thomas W. Johnson, the former editor in chief of Financial Planning magazine, filed a discrimination lawsuit last month against the company and the...

Shrinking 'investor class' may be trouble for Bush; Advisers see him losing his edge with some.(News)
August 9, 2004... Byline: Sara Hansard WASHINGTON - Investors are changing the way America votes, but this year, that normally Republican-leaning group is proving problematic for President Bush. Independent pollster John Zogby, president and chief...

LPL improves adviser access to alternatives; CEO to take a year off for global trek.(News)
August 9, 2004... Byline: Bruce Kelly NEW YORK - Linsco/Private Ledger Corp., the industry's leading independent broker-dealer, is adding alternative investments for brokers and advisers, putting them on a greater par with wirehouse broker-dealers. ...

Soft-dollar drain hurts independent researchers; Funds change policies to scrub their images.(News)
August 9, 2004... Byline: Sara Hansard WASHINGTON - The fallout from the mutual fund trading scandals is hurting the independent-research companies that regulators want to favor, and the damage may get worse. Mutual fund companies, which are trying to...

Commercial realty investing requires groundwork.(Investment Strategies)
August 9, 2004... Byline: Dean Macfarlan Too many investors shy away from commercial real estate when diversifying their portfolios. Maybe they think it's inaccessible and that real estate is an exclusive club for billionaire deal makers such as Donald...

Commodity scams can take in even financial advisers; Schemes proliferate when stock market is in the doldrums.(News)
August 9, 2004... Byline: Liz Skinner WASHINGTON - Regulators are warning investors - and financial advisers - who may be looking for alternatives to the U.S. stock market's summer doldrums to beware of commodity scams. The Commodity Futures Trading...

Retirement course catching on with brokers; NAVA, foundation target perceived void.(News)
August 9, 2004... Byline: Rick Miller CHICAGO - With the first wave of baby boomers on the cusp of retirement, a non-profit educational foundation has created a retirement income course that has been a hit with broker-dealer representatives from one major...

Summer proving to be more bad and ugly than good.(Short Interests)
August 9, 2004... Byline: Bruce Kelly NEW YORK - Weaker-than-expected earnings and a prolonged summer slowdown have hit the recent stock performance of broker-dealers and universal banks. Last month, shares of brokers and universal banks were down 4.6%...

Advent's exit opens the door for competitors; Benefits of account aggregation software remain, analysts say.(News)
August 9, 2004... Byline: Brooke Southall SAN FRANCISCO - Account aggregation hasn't proven to be the bonanza that software providers expected: Advent Software Inc. has dropped out of the game, while the other major vendor to advisers works to salvage its...

Florida latest to tighten annuity suitability requirements; Joins 3 other states; another 6 in wings.(News)
August 9, 2004... Byline: Sara Hansard WASHINGTON - Even as annuity salesmen face increased regulations from NASD, states are enacting laws to tighten suitability and education requirements in the industry. Florida became the most recent state to join...

Getting ready to retire, on their own terms.(Short Interests)
August 9, 2004... Byline: Meredith Deliso NEW YORK - About 86% of surveyed "pre-retirees'' between age 50 and 65 wanted to live in their own homes during retirement, according to a recent study by the MetLife Mature Market Institute in Westport, Conn. ...

Miller, aiming to double unit's assets, looks overseas; Legg Mason star boosts analyst ranks.(News)
August 9, 2004... Byline: Ilana Polyak NEW YORK - Although he already has a popular franchise behind him, top money manager Bill Miller plans to double the size of his well-regarded Legg Mason operation. Details are still sketchy, however, about what...

ETF ratings spark criticism; Five popular funds singled out by Weiss for posing `excessive risk'.(News)
August 9, 2004... Byline: David Hoffman NEW YORK - Industry experts have been critical of ratings issued recently by Weiss Ratings Inc. on five exchange traded funds. The Jupiter, Fla., company said in a release late last month that five of the most...

At the Bell; Federated says regulators ask data.(Late News)
August 9, 2004... Federated Investors Inc. in Pittsburgh said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday that it had received requests from the SEC and NASD "on matters in addition to mutual fund trading practices.'' Federated said it...

Hedge funds rise in popularity.(Short Interests)
August 9, 2004... Byline: Jeff Benjamin DETROIT - Hedge funds are looking more attractive than ever, according to the results of an investor survey conducted by the Hennessee Group LLC in New York. Hennessee's seventh annual survey, which tallied...

A deal with plenty of strings attached.(Other Views)
August 9, 2004... Byline: Brian Fisher As I walked onto the new-car lot, I gazed in awe at the spectacle before me. Stretching for what seemed like miles in every direction were rows and rows of the most beautiful automobiles I had ever seen. Every...

Ads focus on financial services, not making pretty pictures; Ryan Beck works to build its brand with irreverent ads.(News)
August 9, 2004... Byline: Liz Skinner WASHINGTON - Ryan Beck & Co. Inc. wants affluent investors to know what it is - and what it isn't. In television and billboard advertisements in New Jersey and New York, the Livingston, N.J.-based securities firm...

NFS enhances fixed-income, research services.(Product Watch)
August 9, 2004... National Financial Services LLC in New York, a subsidiary of Fidelity Investments in Boston, has released a series of enhancements to its investment research offering and fixed-income service, available on Streetscape, its integrated-brokerage...

People.
August 9, 2004... The Securities and Exchange Commission in Washington has named Charles A. Fishkin, 44, the director of the newly formed Office of Risk Assessment. He will manage the overall risk assessment program, coordinating such activities across the...

Compliance software to keep up with regulators; Offerings include code-of-ethics package, e-mail retrieval product.(News)
August 9, 2004... Byline: Liz Skinner WASHINGTON - Financial advisers aren't afraid of breaking the newest securities rules; they're just trying to make sure they understand the new requirements and don't go broke complying. Many are turning to software...

MFS going after late traders' $; Freezes assets of one suspected broker in bid to restore reputation.(News)
August 9, 2004... Byline: Frederick P. Gabriel Jr. BOSTON - As it vowed it would, MFS Investment Management is taking steps to recover at least some of the $175 million it was forced to pay in restitution to shareholders for its role in the mutual fund...

New ETFs to carry upfront fees; Some worry that PowerShares' move sets a bad precedent.(News)
August 9, 2004... Byline: David Hoffman NEW YORK - Upfront sales charges will soon be tacked on to a slew of new exchange traded funds, leaving some industry experts worried about the precedent it could set. PowerShares Capital Management LLC in...

Benchmark lays bare 401(k) management fees; Invesmart urges 0.65% annual max.(News)
August 9, 2004... Byline: Rick Miller CHICAGO - When it comes to 401(k) fees, how much is fair? As far as the investment management fee goes, plan participants shouldn't have to pay more than 0.65% annually, below the typical 0.90% to 1% paid by most...

Schwab rolling dice on keynoter Clinton; Advisers say its founder must take key speaking role.(News)
August 9, 2004... Byline: Brooke Southall SAN FRANCISCO - Charles Schwab & Co. Inc. dropped more than 5,000 invitations in the mail late last week to financial advisers officially proclaiming that former President Bill Clinton will serve as keynote speaker...

Plan targets late trading.(News)
August 9, 2004... Byline: Sara Hansard WASHINGTON - A trade association representing companies that service 401(k) plans has submitted a proposal to stop late trading in mutual funds. Under the proposal The SPARK Institute of Simsbury, Conn., submitted...

Kudos to FPA on challenging Merrill rule.(Editorials)
August 9, 2004... The Financial Planning Association is to be applauded for throwing down the gauntlet to the Securities and Exchange Commission by filing suit to challenge the so-called Merrill Lynch rule. The SEC proposed the rule in 1999 and invited...

Losses continue at Lincoln Financial.(Short Interests)
August 9, 2004... Byline: Bruce Kelly NEW YORK - Lincoln Financial Advisors Corp. in Fort Wayne, Ind., continues to lose money, though the amount the independent broker-dealer lost during the first half of this year is less than it did during last year's...

Calendar.(Calendar/Datebook)
August 9, 2004... AUGUST 12 - Educational and Legislative Symposiums, National Tax Sheltered Accounts Association. Hilton Philadelphia City Avenue. (785)842-4983 or ntsaa.org. 12 - ERISA/Presenting Performance and Advertising, National Regulatory...

Getting a grip on our information overload.(Monday Morning)
August 9, 2004... Byline: Jim Pavia The term "information overload'' refers to the state of having too much information to make a decision or remain informed about a topic. We all have a variety of channels of communication with which we must deal each...

VA 'suitablity' regs called unsuitable.(Short Interests)
August 16, 2004... Byline: Sara Hansard WASHINGTON - As expected, the life insurance industry is arguing that NASD shouldn't go ahead with its proposed suitability-and-disclosure regulations tailored specifically to variable annuities. In comments filed...

Reform paying dividends.(Short Interests)
August 16, 2004... Byline: Sara Hansard WASHINGTON - Growth in dividend payments following tax reforms enacted in 2003 has been unprecedented, the Securities Industry Association of New York and Washington reported. The SIA said in a research report that...

It's home sweet (vacation) home; As valuations soar, investment benefits may outweigh tax benefits.(News)
August 16, 2004... Byline: Brooke Southall SAN FRANCISCO - The vacation home market, it appears, remains hotter than an August beach day. For the last period for which data are available, vacation home prices shot up 27% in value, compared with those of...

At broker-dealer firms owned by insurers, the cracks are showing; Cultural changes are needed to stem losses, UBS report says, and ample scale is key.(News)
August 16, 2004... Byline: Bruce Kelly NEW YORK - The deep cracks in many of the insurance-company-owned independent-broker-dealer networks are showing, according to a recent report by UBS Investment Research, a unit of UBS Financial Services Inc. in New...

IRS dispute resolution program gets high marks.(Tax Watch)
August 16, 2004... Byline: Mark E. Battersby The fast-track dispute resolution pilot program, a 17-month effort by the Internal Revenue Service to resolve disputed tax issues in examinations of the nation's largest taxpayers, received high marks after an...

People.
August 16, 2004... The Securities Industry Association in New York and Washington has named Richard Bommer, 42, assistant vice president and director of operations, and Marin E. Gibson, 35, assistant vice president/counsel, government affairs. Mr. Bommer...

Short-term interest rates keep on truckin'.(Reverse Spin)
August 16, 2004... Byline: Rick Miller Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan must have that 1979 disco tune "Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now'' stuck in his head. Indeed, the Fed's monetary policymakers were "on the move'' last Tuesday, raising...

American Funds tries to stay ahead of regulators; Broker-dealers asked to sign agreement or possibly forfeit revenue-sharing arrangements.(News)
August 16, 2004... Byline: Rick Miller CHICAGO - As a condition of receiving future revenue-sharing dollars, American Funds, the dominant fund family in the adviser-sold channel, is looking for assurance from top sellers that they don't have inherent...

As rollover boom looms, many advisers lack a plan; Need to focus more on their clients' changing needs, report says.(News)
August 16, 2004... Byline: Jeff Benjamin DETROIT - The individual retirement account market is poised for an explosive growth spurt that could nearly double the $3 trillion held in such investments over the next five years, according to the latest research...

Fund firms heat up new-issues market; Calamos, Cohen & Steers end asset manager drought.(News)
August 16, 2004... Byline: David Hoffman NEW YORK - A long drought for investors in newly public asset managers is ending. Calamos Asset Management Inc. in Naperville, Ill., earlier this month filed to raise as much as $100 million in an initial public...

Individual 401(k)s touted as ideal retirement tool for some; Offer myriad features, but have drawbacks.(Top 401(k) Managers)
August 16, 2004... Byline: Liz Skinner WASHINGTON - Real estate agents, retired aerospace engineers turned private consultants, and even independent financial planners are ideal candidates for individual 401(k) plans because they run their own businesses and...

Regulatory inquiries changing the game for advisers; Spotlight trained on fiduciary responsibility; increase in fee-based pricing models is likely.(Top 401(k) Managers)
August 16, 2004... Byline: Jeff Benjamin DETROIT - The concept of financial advice is likely to start carrying a lot more weight in the world of company-sponsored 401(k) retirement plans. Whether financial advisers have built businesses around selling...

Uniform way to describe 'branch office' is in works; NASD, the NYSE, some states have varying definitions.(News)
August 16, 2004... Byline: Sara Hansard WASHINGTON - State securities regulators are asking for comment on a proposal for a uniform definition of "branch office'' for investment advisory firms and broker-dealers. The North American Securities...

IRS needs more funding to fight tax cheats.(Editorial)
August 16, 2004... With the Internal Revenue Service badly underfunded and outmanned, tax cheats have apparently decided that it is open season on the agency. The federal government is cheated out of a staggering $300 billion a year in unpaid taxes, according...

Survey: Hedge funds in fine trim.(Short Interests)
August 16, 2004... Byline: Jeff Benjamin DETROIT - Individuals and family offices continue to represent the largest source of capital for hedge funds, according to the results of the most recent hedge fund manager survey conducted by Hennessee Hedge Fund...

No Beemer? What a bummer!(Short Interests)
August 16, 2004... Byline: Brooke Southall SAN FRANCISCO - The affluent are starting to feel spooked by the stock market, the economy and the prospects of having to postpone the purchase of a BMW until next year, according to a new survey by The Spectrem...

First Clearing to help indie brokers recruit; Firm seeks to find an edge amid heavy competition.(News)
August 16, 2004... Byline: Bruce Kelly NEW YORK - In going head-to-head with other clearing firms for broker-dealer clients, First Clearing LLC, a business unit of Wachovia Securities Inc. in Richmond, Va., is making a unique pitch. The group, with the...

Directed brokerage likely is thing of past; SEC about to finalize rule, but tap may already have been shut.(News)
August 16, 2004... Byline: Sara Hansard WASHINGTON - The Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday is scheduled to make final a rule proposal that would ban mutual fund companies from directing their brokerage commissions to broker-dealer firms in...

Wirehouses to allow transfer of some data.(Short Interests)
August 16, 2004... Byline: Bruce Kelly NEW YORK - Three top wirehouse broker-dealers have put down the gloves over the fight to recruit brokers. Last Tuesday, Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc.; the Smith Barney division of Citigroup Global Markets Holdings Inc.;...

Time to abolish quarterly earnings estimates.(Monday Morning)
August 16, 2004... Byline: Mike Clowes "Shares of priceline.com [Inc.] dropped [$]3.44, or 14%, to [$]29.29. The Internet retailer's net rose 48% in the second quarter, but it also gave guidance that was below Wall Street's expectations.'' So read a...

At the Bell; Researchers oppose soft-dollar ban.(Late News)
August 16, 2004... A group of 76 independent-research firms sent a letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday claiming that independent directors who follow the "best practices'' guidelines issued by the Mutual Fund Directors Forum in Washington...

Versar becomes well versed in defense contracting.(Street Wise)
August 16, 2004... Byline: Jeff Benjamin Versar Inc. (VSR) will probably never be a household name or a Fortune 500 company. The story of this tiny Springfield, Va.-based professional services and consulting firm, however, is perhaps more interesting...

Hidden fund scandal: Ownership's true cost.(Other Views)
August 16, 2004... Byline: Brent Brodeski Late trading; soft-dollar and directed-brokerage arrangements; board members who do the bidding of fund managers - these are just a few of the things Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman William H. Donaldson...

It is open season on midsize mutual fund firms; Banks and insurers are leading the hunt.(News)
August 16, 2004... Byline: Ilana Polyak NEW YORK - When Affiliated Managers Group Inc. of Prides Crossing, Mass., bought Fremont Investment Advisors Inc. in July and decided to roll the latter's funds into its own offerings, the deal was seen as the start of...

With Robert C. Pozen of MFS Investment Management.(One on One)
August 16, 2004... Byline: Frederick P. Gabriel Jr. Robert C. Pozen has a lot to say about retirement. In fact, the former president of Fidelity Investments' funds unit, who joined MFS Investment Management in February as its chairman, is fast becoming...

Profiling the industry's Top 25.(Top 401(k) Managers)
August 16, 2004... 1 Fidelity Investments 82 Devonshire St., Boston, MA 02109; phone: (800) 343-3548; fidelity.com (millions) Corporate 401(k) $302,824 Total DC assets $359,521 Internally managed DC $359,521 Investment vehicle: ...

Equity funds see dark days.(Short Interests)
August 23, 2004... Byline: David Hoffman NEW YORK - Equity mutual fund performance was abysmal last month, and industry experts said they don't expect it to get better any time soon. The Lipper 1000 Index, which measures equity fund performance, lost...

Clients favor HSAs; advisers need convincing; Their high deductibles, hence lower commissions, seen as one roadblock.(News)
August 23, 2004... Byline: Gary S. Mogel NEW YORK - Seventy percent of consumers with private health insurance have a favorable opinion of health savings accounts, according to a recent survey of 500 privately insured adults under age 65. However, a sampling...

LTC costs all over the map.(Short Interests)
August 23, 2004... Byline: Gary S. Mogel NEW YORK - It looks like Shreveport, La., is the capital of low-cost nursing-home care. According to a survey of 476 nursing homes across the United States, the cost of a private room in a Shreveport nursing home...

Older Americans need trusted advisers.(Monday Morning)
August 23, 2004... Byline: Jim Pavia Several disturbing studies have concluded that some retirees aren't enjoying their golden years, due to financial hardships. In recent years, the rate of older Americans' declaring bankruptcy has risen dramatically....

New name, new outlook.(Short Interests)
August 23, 2004... Byline: David Hoffman NEW YORK - What's in a name? For MarketWatch.com Inc., it is no longer the ".com.'' The San Francisco-based financial information company is dropping the ".com'' from its name; it is now MarketWatch Inc. In...

Stressing compliance a value-add for clients? Firms scramble to meet SEC's October deadline.(News)
August 23, 2004... Byline: Liz Skinner WASHINGTON - Compliance is all about the client for Curt Weil of Weil Capital Management LLC - not that he thinks his clients care about the administrative procedures the firm goes through to ensure that each trade is...

Fed should back off on interest rate hikes.(Editorials)
August 23, 2004... Alan Greenspan and the Federal Reserve's other monetary policymakers could be in danger of repeating the mistake they made during the technology boom: sticking with a strategy and a policy too long. The last time, the Fed stayed with a...

Shareholder regs must be thought through.(Editorials)
August 23, 2004... The Securities and Exchange Commission must move carefully with its proposals for more shareholder democracy. In the past, we have urged that shareholders be able to nominate directors for corporate boards. However, the SEC's initial...

Software facilitates socially conscious investing; Helps managers align clients' goals and investments.(News)
August 23, 2004... Byline: David Hoffman NEW YORK - With corporate scandals still on investors' minds, some money managers say they feel added pressure to implement socially conscious investing programs, though starting such a program from scratch can be...

401(k) investors still bet heavily on company stock; Few lessons learned from Enron collapse, study concludes.(News)
August 23, 2004... Byline: Rick Miller CHICAGO - While 401(k) plan participants are more diversified than in previous years, the reliance on company stock is still too high to suit some financial advisers. A research report issued last week by the...

Loopholes allow anonymous campaign donations.(Tax Watch)
August 23, 2004... Byline: Mark E. Battersby Thanks to a quirk in federal election laws, big donors are able to operate clandestinely through non-profit groups that already have raised $200 million in contributions, according to Mark Glaze, head of the...

With Paul Schott Stevens, president of the ICI.(One on One)
August 23, 2004... Byline: Frederick P. Gabriel Jr. Obviously, Paul Schott Stevens isn't afraid of a little controversy. As the new president of the Investment Company Institute, the 51-year-old Mr. Stevens is joining the organization amid major upheaval...

ETFs on the way for 401(k)s? One company has slashed the cost of trading the products.(News)
August 23, 2004... Byline: Rick Miller CHICAGO - Coming soon to a 401(k) plan near you: exchange traded funds. This week, The Nasdaq Stock Market Inc. in New York will unveil plans to begin offering some of its ETFs - including the popular QQQ - through...

ICON fund manager struts his short stuff.(Street Wise)
August 23, 2004... Byline: Jeff Benjamin J.C. Waller III, manager of the $25 million ICON Long/Short Fund (IOLIX), knows that there is nothing quite like the ability to sell stocks short at times like these, when the equity markets are essentially moving...

Good grief! MetLife shops State Street.(Reverse Spin)
August 23, 2004... Byline: Frederick P. Gabriel Jr. It looks like Snoopy is planning a garage sale. New York-based insurance giant MetLife Inc. is close to selling its asset management unit, Boston's State Street Research and Management Co., to BlackRock...

At the Bell; NASD stops firm from opening accounts.(Late News)
August 23, 2004... In a first, NASD has stopped a firm from opening mutual fund accounts for new clients for 30 days because, the association claims, the firm facilitated market timing of mutual funds and failed to have proper supervision for both market timing...

Preparation is watchword.(Short Interests)
August 23, 2004... Byline: Bruce Kelly NEW YORK - Raymond James Financial Inc. of St. Petersburg, Fla., was spared the brunt of Hurricane Charley when the storm lashed Florida on Aug. 13, but the firm was prepared for the worst. Since Sept. 11, 2001,...

Google goes to the masses.(Short Interests)
August 23, 2004... Byline: Jeff Benjamin DETROIT - Bringing shares of Google Inc. to the masses is the latest twist for fledgling online stock trading platform ex24 Inc. Naples, Fla.-based ex24, which markets itself as an alternative trading system, said...

Managers' paychecks changing? Fund firms tie pay to performance.(News)
August 23, 2004... Byline: Frederick P. Gabriel Jr. BOSTON - The push by regulators for more disclosure about how mutual fund portfolio managers are paid will likely lead to a growing or shrinking paycheck for many, depending on their fund's performance. ...