(Money Manager) - Defined-contribution retirement plans are quite common, and have been increasing in popularity over the last couple of decades. As compared to a defined-benefit plan, where an employee is guaranteed a certain monetary amount on a regular basis for as long as they live after retirement, defined-contribution plans come with no such guarantee.

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(Malcolm Butler) - Recent economic data suggests that the worst of the recession is behind us. The stock market has been moving higher in anticipation of a recovery in the business community. While the economic future is still uncertain, we will likely see increased economic activity over the coming months.

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(Malcolm Butler) - I look at a lot of financial statements, and I’ve begun noticing a trend among the high net worth individuals of our generation. Particularly among small business owners and those in professional partnerships, a lot of people have a disproportionately high amount of illiquid assets (real estate, closely held businesses, partnership interests) relative to retirement assets (401(k), IRAs, pensionplans) and liquid assets (publically held stocks, bonds, cash). Why does thismatter? Two reasons: people make financial decisions (such as taking out a loan or investing in more illiquid assets) based on their perceptions of their net worth; if they are not really worth as much as they appear on paper, or if their worth is disproportionately skewed to illiquidity, those decisions may be misguided.

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