SAN DIEGO, CA — (Marketwire) — 04/19/12 — BrightScope (), a leading provider of independent financial information and investment research, today announced its second annual list of the top Bay 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.
“The Bay Area is home to some of the most well-known companies in the world, and it-s great to see that despite their size and growth they are focused on maximizing the company-s retirement plan,” said Dan Weeks, Founder and COO. “With the BrightScope Rating, companies can learn how key variables impact 401k plan performance over time and initiate change within their organization accordingly.”
Noteworthy findings in the 2012 Top 25 Bay Area 401k Plans list include:
Newcomer, Dolby Laboratories, Inc. takes the No. 1 spot on the list, replacing the previously ranked No. 1, Chevron Corporation
Notable companies that decreased in ranking include Google Inc., dropping from No. 2 to No. 6; Genentech, Inc. from No. 4 to No. 9
This is Lawrence Livermore National Security LLC-s first time on the BrightScope list at No. 8 with a ranking of 86
SVB Financial Group jumped from No. 10 to No. 6 with a new ranking of 87 (increased by 4 points)
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Dolby Laboratories, Inc. – – 87
Chevron Corporation – – 87
Bechtel Corporation – – 87
BlackRock Institutional Trust Company, N.A. – – 87
SVB Financial Group – – 87
Google Inc. – – 87
Electric Power Research Institute, Inc. – – 86
Lawrence Livermore National Security LLC – – 86
Genentech, Inc. – – 86
MedAmerica, Inc. – – 86
Renesas Electronics America Inc. – – 86
Infineon Technologies North America Corp. – – 86
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP – – 86
Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP – – 86
Xilinx, Inc. – – 85
Cisco Systems, Inc. – – 85
Swinerton Incorporated – -85
Cadence Design Systems, Inc. – – 85
Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, PC – – 85
Applied Signal Technology, Inc. – – 85
Altera Corporation – – 85
National Semiconductor Corporation+A23 – – 84
Gilead Sciences, Inc. – – 84
TIBCO Software, Inc. – – 84
Cooley, LLP – – 84
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 575,000 financial advisors and 45,000 advisory firms are available for free at .
Katie Carlson
Atomic PR for BrightScope
415-593-1400