SAN DIEGO, CA — (Marketwire) — 03/22/12 — In the news release, “BrightScope Announces the Top 25 Los Angeles Area-Based Companies With the Best 401k Plans,” issued earlier today by BrightScope, we are advised by the company that the “Pepperdine University Retirement Plan” has been removed from the 21st position in the ranking, and a new 25th place, “Conexant Systems, Inc. Retirement Savings Plan,” has been added to compensate. Complete corrected text follows.
Amgen, Inc. Tops the List This Year, While 2011 No. 1 O-Melveny & Myers LLP Drops Down to No. 18
SAN DIEGO, CA — March 22, 2012 — BrightScope (), a leading provider of independent financial information and investment research, today announced its second annual list of the top Los Angeles area-based companies with the highest ranked 401k plans containing more than $100 million in assets. This year BrightScope has extended the list to include the top 25 companies.
BrightScope obtains an increasing amount of its data directly from plan sponsors and record keepers, and augments these primary sources with data from publicly available sources such as the Department of Labor and the Securities and Exchange Commission. By analyzing and interpreting this data, BrightScope provides unprecedented transparency into the 401k industry.
“There are more than twice as many plans in Los Angeles this year with a BrightScope ranking of 83 or above, which shows that employers are taking action to make their retirement plans work harder for their employees,” said Bryan Lorenz, vice president of data at BrightScope. “BrightScope helps uncover opportunities for improvement in plans so plan sponsors, financial advisors, and employees can identify what changes need to be made, and demand action, in order to maximize 401k benefits.”
Noteworthy findings in the 2012 Top 25 Los Angeles 401k Plans list include:
Amgen-s Retirement and Savings Plan gains a point and jumps one spot to become the highest rated plan on this year-s list
Plans that have increased their rating and appear on the list for the second year in a row: Retirement and Savings Plan (up 3 points); the Retirement Plan (up 3 points); – Southern California Thrift & Profit Sharing Plan of Latham & Watkins (up 2 points); and -s Profit Sharing Plan (up 1 point)
Plans on the 2011 list with ratings that have decreased: . Profit Sharing Plan (down 2 points) and -s Physicians Tax Savings Retirement Plan (down 1 point)
– – (Rounded to the nearest whole number)
1. – Amgen Retirement and Savings Plan – 89
2. – Southern California Permanente Medical Group Retirement Plan – 88
3. – Allen Matkins Profit Sharing and 401(k) Plan – 87
4. – Irell & Manella Profit Sharing Plan – 87
5. – MSC.Software Corporation Retirement Plan – 86
6. – Sheppard, Mullin, Richter, and Hampton, LLP Retirement and Savings Plan – 85
7. – SPARTA, Inc. Profit Sharing Plan – 84
8. – The Southern California Thrift & Profit Sharing Plan of Latham & Watkins – 84
9. – Manatt, Phelps & Phillips LLP Employees Savings Plan – 84
10. – Occidental Petroleum Corporation Savings Plan – 83
11. – The Outer Offices Thrift & Profit Sharing Retirement Plan of Latham & Watkins – 83
12. – SCPMG Physicians Tax Savings Retirement Plan – 83
13. – Broadcom Corporation Employee Savings Plan – 83
14. – Loeb & Loeb LLP Profit Sharing and 401(k) Plan – 82
15. – Northrop Grumman Savings Plan – 82
16. . – Jacobs Engineering Group, Inc. 401(k) Plus Savings Plan and Trust – 82
17. . – Kingston Retirement Savings Plan – 82
18. – O-Melveny & Myers LLP 1982 Retirement Plan – 81
19. – Trust Company of the West Profit Sharing and Savings Plan – 81
20. – Pacific Life Insurance Company Retirement Incentive Savings Plan – 81
21. – Edison 401(k) Savings Plan – 81
22. – Western Digital Corporation 401(k) Plan – 80
23. . – Toshiba America, Inc. 401(k) Savings Plan – 79
24. – City National Corporation Profit Sharing Plan – 79
25. – Conexant Systems, Inc. Retirement Savings Plan – 79
BrightScope-s 401k plan Rating was developed by BrightScope, Inc. with the help of leading academics and independent 401k fiduciaries. Analyzing more than 200 individual data points, the BrightScope Rating algorithm can calculate a single numerical score for each 401k plan in the country. The data points examined cover broad categories such as total plan cost, company generosity and investment menu quality.
BrightScope has rated nearly 50,000 401k plans, spanning more than 30 million workers and over $2 trillion in assets. Industry adoption of the BrightScope Rating will lead to more cost-effective plans, increased participation rates, higher employee satisfaction and better outcomes for the 60 million employees who depend on their 401k plan for retirement.
BrightScope is a financial information company that brings transparency to opaque markets through independent research and analysis. Delivered through web-based software, BrightScope data drives better decision-making for individual investors, corporate plan sponsors, asset managers, broker-dealers, and financial advisors. The BrightScope Rating, developed in partnership with leading independent 401k fiduciaries, reviews more than 200 unique data inputs per plan and calculates a single numerical score which defines plan quality at the company level. In April 2011, the company launched BrightScope Advisor Pages, the first comprehensive and publicly available directory of financial advisors designed to help consumers discover information and conduct due diligence on wealth management professionals. BrightScope also markets a suite of data analytics software products to Fortune 1000 companies, asset managers, broker-dealers, financial advisors, and other market participants. Public ratings for more than 46,000 retirement plans as well as rating definitions, criteria and methodologies, and information on more than 475,000 financial advisors and 45,000 advisory firms are available for free at .
Katie Carlson
Atomic PR for BrightScope
415-593-1400