July 2016 - Runnymede Capital Management

Editor's note: There is a more up-to-date version of this article at 401k Providers: 2017 Top 10 Lists. Thanks!

Plan sponsors, that is companies that offer their employees a 401(k) plan, have many choices when selecting service providers for their defined contribution plans. The challenge for many businesses, especially for small businesses, is that the day-to-day running of their businesses leaves little time to review, monitor, and optimize their retirement plan. The result is that many plan sponsors lack a comprehensive understanding of who the top 401k providers are. PLANSPONSOR magazine conducts an annual recordkeeping survey profiling top providers. Here's their list of the 2016 top 401(k) providers and a few of my thoughts.

Runnymede made one of the earliest calls on the corporate earnings recession in February of 2015. S&P earnings have been flat out terrible for 5 of the last 6 quarters with double-digit declines. However last quarter, the S&P showed signs of turning the corner. Analysts had forecast 10% growth heading into the first quarter but companies still fell well short of that mark for essentially a flat quarter. As 2nd quarter earnings season kicks off, analysts are even more bullish with S&P reported earnings growth forecast at 15%. While we do not expect this number to be that great, if it can even show high single digit growth, it could very well prove to be a catalyst for stocks to hit new highs.

Month: July 2016