Contact:
Alyssa Gagen
Director of Social Media and Marketing, NICSA
508-485-1500
Boston, MA, November 5, 2014—Policies and procedures regarding beneficiary designations vary widely, concludes a NICSA survey of retirement plan administrators and individual retirement account custodians released today. The survey was conducted in June by NICSA’s Retirement Committee, with the assistance of the Insured Retirement Institute.
Beneficiary designations are important to consumers because retirement accounts are excluded from an investor’s estate upon death. Instead, the assets in the accounts are transferred to heirs according to the terms of the beneficiary designations provided by account holders.
The survey found little consensus among providers when it comes to policies for naming beneficiaries or for the documentation required after death. For example, there was no consensus on the appropriate default beneficiary when an IRA account holder fails to name a beneficiary. Only 30% of respondents name the estate as the default beneficiary, while 43% designate a surviving spouse and then the estate, and 22% distribute first to a surviving spouse and then to children -- and only after that to the estate.
Even in policy areas where there was more consensus, there was rarely unanimity. Few survey responses received close to 100% support.
Because of the variance among firms, investors and their beneficiaries working with more than one provider could well be subject to multiple policies and will likely need to provide each provider with different information.
“There’s usually a lot more consistency in operational policies in the asset management industry than there is here,” notes Theresa Hamacher, NICSA’s President. “We hope that the survey generates a dialogue about policies for beneficiary designations.”
Beneficiary designations can be very complex, which means that administering them often involves considerable manual processing. In fact, only 1 in 4 survey respondents have an online capability that enables investors to update designations themselves.
Complete survey results are available to NICSA and Insured Retirement Institute members at nicsa.org and www.irionline.org.
About NICSA
NICSA is a not-for-profit trade association founded in 1962 that provides the global investment management industry with discussion and education forums to better serve its customers by developing operational best practices. NICSA forums enable associates of asset managers, distributors, and service providers to collaborate to establish standards for operational best practices to assist compliance with regulations and continuously improve operating performance; stay up-to-date on the latest developments through education and information sharing; learn about trends in all types of investment vehicles, including mutual funds, hedge funds, unit investment trusts, UCITs and ETFs and connect members with peers to network and learn from each other, and foster skills that can help advance careers. For more information, visit nicsa.org
Wellesley, MA - May 10, 2004 - The NICSA Board of Directors have approved a modification in NICSA’s membership fee structure. NICSA membership fees have remained unchanged for the past ten years. During that decade consumer prices increased 27% and industry assets grew 252% from $2.1 trillion to $7.4 trillion. In that same time, although NICSA has made every effort to control expenses, the costs to NICSA of providing quality services to its membership have increased significantly
In order to ensure that NICSA is able to continue to provide its members with the best possible service in carrying out its missions of education, training and networking, NICSA will implement a modest increase in membership fees. This adjustment will become effective as of the members next annual membership renewal date.
While our membership fees have not increased over the past ten years, the services we provide our members have grown substantially. Here are a few examples of NICSA initiatives during that time period:
NICSA has been both innovative and active in providing services to its membership. In order to maintain the organization’s ability to continue to carry out this role, there will be an increase in the base Corporate Location Membership fee of $250 per year. Additionally, a completely new National Corporate Membership option will be offered, allowing all employees of a corporate entity nationwide to be eligible for valuable NICSA benefits. This is an enhanced membership level for the many geographically distributed member firms to consider. Also newly introduced is the Global Leader Membership for the most dedicated of NICSA supporters.
Updated NICSA Membership Fee StructureUpdated NICSA Membership Fee StructurePrimary Corporate Location Membership: $1,250
NICSA membership for All Employees of a Corporate Entity that work within a Specific Metropolitan Area. (currently $1,000)
Additional Location Membership: $1,000
Incremental membership to cover One Additional Metropolitan Area. (currently $750)
National Corporate Membership: $3,000
NICSA membership for All Employees of a Corporate Entity and its Wholly Owned Subsidiaries Nationwide.
NICSA Global Leader Membership: $10,000
For leading entities that wish to support NICSA in fulfillment of its mission, membership for All Employees of an Enterprise, including ALL its Affiliates Worldwide. NICSA Global Leader member firms will receive priority access and placement for Exhibitor and Sponsorship opportunities at NICSA events.
International Corporate Location Membership: $500
NICSA membership for All Employees of a Corporate Entity that work within a Specific Country outside of North America. (No change in current dues.)
Boston - January 26, 2004. The National Investment Company Service Association (NICSA) announced today that it is partnering with New England College of Finance (NECF) to promote a new online program with UC Berkeley Extension. This innovative and timely program, entitled "Accelerated Program in Financial Services", was created under the direction of an Advisory Board of senior management from prominent companies in the banking and investment management/mutual fund sectors. The program targets college graduates who seek industry knowledge as well as graduate-level education. The program has received funding support from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and is recommended for seven to nine graduate credits in transfer into masters degree programs.
"This is an exciting and very timely program", says Barbara V. Weidlich, president of NICSA. "We can now offer anytime, anywhere access to industry-specific education delivered at the graduate level, with credits transferring into highly regarded MBA programs. This will provide a perfect complement to NICSAs existing portfolio of conferences, seminars, regional meetings, and our online Certified Mutual Fund Specialist program delivered in partnership with Acadient."
In this jointly-delivered, fast-paced program, students will be engaged in parallel tracks. They will enroll in either a finance or general management concentration through Berkeley while simultaneously focusing on financial services education through NECF. Students will participate in online cohort groups at NECF where they will apply the lessons learned in their Berkeley studies to real-world financial situations. All learning will therefore be tied to the industry, ensuring relevance, practicality, and collaboration among students and companies. The program will culminate in a Capstone Project, which students will create as a strategic deliverable to their employers. The program may be completed in six to eight months.
"We are delighted to welcome NICSA as a partner in this important industry-driven program", says Robert A. Regan, president and CEO of NECF. "The NICSA brand resonates throughout the industry, and its large global membership is precisely the audience this online program is targeting. By leveraging our combined resources, brands, and intellectual capital, NICSA, UC Berkeley, and NECF deliver extraordinary value to the financial services industry."
Under the terms of this partnership agreement, NICSA and NECF will share revenues, and members of NICSA will receive a substantial tuition discount in the program. In addition to promoting the program to its members, NICSA will serve on the Advisory Board overseeing the program, where it will provide thought leadership on behalf of its members.
The program is scheduled for a March 2004 launch and will be offered four times throughout the year. Admission is open to college graduates of the financial services industry, and requires a written recommendation from management.
About NICSA
The National Investment Company Service Association (NICSA) is a not-for-profit trade association providing leadership and innovation in educational programming and information exchange within the operations sector of the worldwide investment industry.
NICSA membership totals more than 400 companies operating in major financial centers in the United States, Europe and Asia. The membership represents all segments of the mutual fund industry including mutual fund complexes, investment management companies, custodian banks, transfer agents and independent providers of specialized products and services.
NICSAs services to members include education, training and networking opportunities through conferences on a wide range of industry issues and developments; specialized publications, and access to NICSAs membership directory. NICSA also offers an On-Line Learning Center featuring the Certified Mutual Fund Specialist Program, the first-ever certification program of its kind.
NICSAs website (nicsa.org) offers up-to-date information about all of the Associations programs and activities.
About NECF
New England College of Finance is a not-for-profit educational organization serving all segments of financial services. Founded in Boston in 1909 as a banking institute, NECF achieved national prominence when it became recognized as an accredited, degree-granting college - the only organization of its kind in America ever to achieve full collegiate status. In 2002, NECF was selected by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to be its partner in delivering online education to the financial services industry worldwide. A major eLearning grant from Sloan enabled the creation of NECFOnline and its partnership with UC Berkeley Extension.
Boston, MA – October 17, 2019 – Nicsa is announcing it has elected nine new members to their Board of Directors:
The new Board members, senior-level executives from Nicsa’s member firms spanning all areas of the asset management industry, were elected at the association’s 2019 General Membership Meeting (GMM) in Boston today. Nicsa’s Board of Directors now comprises 31 voting members who collectively steer the direction and strategic mission of Nicsa.
Website Design By Branophia LLC