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The earliest 401(k) plans have been in existence for almost 20 years. The
popularity of 401(k)s has been enormous. They have rapidly become the foundation
for the retirement plans of many Americans. The popularity of 401(k) plans is in
part due to their flexibility relative to other retirement plans. A 401(k)
serves the needs of both employers and employees. Employers gain more control of
benefit costs and employees gain investment freedom and control their contribution
levels. However, while a 401(k) plan can be an excellent retirement benefit, your
plan is only as good as its investments.
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Gabelli Corporate Profile
GAMCO Investors, Inc. (GBL - NYSE) and affiliates serve as investment advisor to
twenty nine mutual funds and four money market funds totaling $11 billion. Its affiliate
GAMCO Investors, Inc., manages over $11 billion in separate accounts for institutions,
individuals, and qualified pension plans and trusts. GAMCO Investors, Inc. is the
parent company of the FINRA (www.finra.org) registered
broker/dealer Gabelli & Company, L.L.C., distributor of the mutual funds.
Under the leadership of Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment
Officer-Value Products Mario J. Gabelli, CFA,
Gabelli Funds, L.L.C. has developed a diversified, equity-oriented mutual fund family to
serve the varied financial objectives of individual investors and institutions. Its
affiliates, Gabelli Advisors, Inc. and Gabelli Fixed Income, L.L.C. have expanded the
product line to include various fixed income oriented funds. Every member of the Gabelli
Funds' mutual-fund family is managed with the philosophy that diligent fundamental research
is the key to creating wealth in the securities market. In the Gabelli tradition, our
research staff focuses on value across the market spectrum. The emphasis is on stock
picking - identifying unique investment opportunities overlooked by the Wall Street herd.
The Gabelli Funds began operations in 1986 with the inception of The Gabelli Asset Fund.
GAMCO Investors Company, GAMCO Investors, was formed in 1977 to provide
discretionary investment management services for a broad spectrum of investors. Today,
Gabelli Funds offers a full range of investment options ranging from conservative fixed
income funds to aggressive common stock funds. Several alternative investment options
such as domestic and offshore equity based limited partnerships are also available.
About the Plan Administrator
The BISYS Group, Inc. (NYSE:BSG), headquartered in New York City, provides business
process outsourcing solutions that enable investment firms, insurance companies, and
banks to capitalize on convergence by entering new segments of the financial services i
ndustry.
The Retirement Services division positions BISYS as a leading third-party
administrator of retirement plans and a leading provider of ERISA document management
and training services. BISYS is the only firm offering virtually every component of a
sophisticated retirement plan infrastructure, including prototype plan design and
maintenance, plan administration, forms and documents, customized marketing and sales
support, reference resources, a toll-free help line for ongoing access to industry
expertise and assistance, web-based planning tools and content, and staff training
and development. These turnkey, customizable services currently support approximately
15,000 retirement plans, with more than 1.2 million participants.
BISYS has made significant investments in people, technology and infrastructure to
support its growth expectations. There are currently over 1,000 professionals working
in the Retirement Services division with a new 100,000+ square foot facility in
Dresher, PA for its Pennsylvania associates.
Investment Options
The Gabelli Family of Funds
Every Gabelli fund is managed with the philosophy that diligent fundamental
research is the key to creating wealth in the equities market.
The Gabelli Funds 401(k) Plan allows your employees to choose up to fifteen investment
options from the list below. Participants can choose any one or a combination of fifteen
Gabelli funds, and change the allocation mix daily. A confirmation statement is sent
after every investment transaction.
Value
The Gabelli Asset Fund
The Gabelli SRI Fund
GAMCO Westwood Equity Fund
The Gabelli Blue Chip Value Fund
Focused Value
The Gabelli Value Fund
Small Cap Value
The Gabelli Small Cap Growth Fund
The Gabelli Woodland Small Cap Value Fund
Growth Funds
The Gabelli Growth Fund
The Gabelli International Growth Fund
Aggressive Growth
The Gabelli Global Growth
Micro-Cap
GAMCO Westwood Mighty Mites Fund
Small Cap Growth
GAMCO Westwood SmallCap Equity Fund
Merger and Arbitrage
The Gabelli ABC Fund
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Equity Income
The Gabelli Equity Income Fund
GAMCO Westwood Balanced Fund
GAMCO Westwood Income Fund
Sector
The Gabelli Global Telecommunications Fund
The Gabelli Gold Fund
The Gabelli Utilities Fund
Specialty Equity
The Gabelli Global Convertible Securities Fund
The Gabelli Global Opportunity Fund
Contrarian
The Gabelli Mathers Fund
The Gabelli Comstock Capital Value Fund
The Gabelli Comstock Strategy Fund
Fixed-Income
GAMCO Westwood Intermediate Bond Fund
Cash Management-Money Market
The Gabelli US Treasury Money Market Fund |
Plan Features
- Plan Design
Key to the success of any 401(k) program is its plan design. The specialized
staff of our administrator is dedicated to addressing each plan sponsor's needs
while ensuring regulatory compliance. From plan inception to ongoing
administration, BISYS works with the plan sponsor to run each plan smoothly.
With the Gabelli Funds 401(k) Plan, Employers may offer a 401(k) plan in
addition to other benefit programs, including Profit Sharing, Money Purchase
Pension, or Non-Qualified plans. Depending on your needs, these benefit plans
can provide a wide range of retirement options, maximizing the economic and
tax advantages for both the plan sponsor and participant.
Plan Documentation
Depending on the design of the plan, we can provide the plan sponsor with a
Standardized or Nonstandardized Prototype Plan and Trust Agreement, thus substantially
reducing the cost associated with a customized plan. A complete 401(k) documentation
package includes a:
- Plan Adoption Agreement.
- Plan and Trust Agreement.
- Draft Summary Plan Description.
Plan Installation
Once a plan is accepted, BISYS begins the installation process. During this
phase our new business unit works directly with you to:
- Gather employee data and investment allocation information.
- Prepare a draft Summary Plan Description for review by the plan sponsor's
legal counsel. Once final revisions are received, Bisys will supply you with one copy to distribute to eligible employees.
- Provide the plan sponsor with a Welcome Kit, inclusive of installation
instructions, enrollment, access to the Employer Services Center, and plan
set up procedures.
- Complete a document evaluation and account reconciliation for existing plans.
- Plan Recordkeeping
We firmly believe timely and accurate recordkeeping services are key to the success of any
401(k) program. To ensure a problem free program, we provide the following services and
reports on behalf of the plan sponsor and participants. Frequencies may vary depending on
plan provisions.
Recordkeeping Services
- Daily valuation of mutual funds and participant accounts
- Internet and an interactive voice response (IVR) system for plan
sponsor and participant account access and transaction processing
- Allocation of contributions by mutual fund and contribution type
on a monthly, semi-monthly, or bi-weekly basis.
- Daily investment transfers and investment election changes
- Comprehensive loan modeling and processing services
- Monitoring of eligibility, enrollment, hardship withdrawals and
maximum deferral limits
- Vesting calculation and recordkeeping
- Electronic transfers of contributions and allocations
- Quarterly comprehensive financial reporting at the plan and participant level
Reports
- SponsorinSight TM
You have 24 hour-a-day, 7 day-a-week access to plan-level and participant-level
account information via a dedicated website.
- Monthly Plan Confirmation
You receive monthly reports detailing all plan-level activity
- Quarterly Administrator's Report
You receive quarterly valuation reports summarizing plan-level activity by
participant. Reports include comprehensive plan totals and the option of
sorting valuations by division or location code.
- Participant Tax Reports
Your participants who received distributions from the plan will be provided
with the necessary tax reporting form (typically, 1099-R) showing taxable
status of distributions.
- Government Reporting
- Preparation of annual Form 5500.
Plan Administration
Two important objectives of 401(k) Plan Administration are to maintain the plan's tax
benefits through government compliance and facilitate employee requests for loans and
distributions.
Compliance Services
To maintain a tax qualified retirement program, the plan must comply with specific
IRS regulations. We inform plan sponsors of regulatory changes and generates the
following tests to assist the plan administrator (the Employer) in fulfilling their
responsibility for government compliance.
 Nondiscrimination Test |
A annual test performed to monitor legal limits restricting deferrals and
contributions on behalf of highly compensated employees (HCEs.) |
| Top Heavy Test |
An annual test to monitor key employee account balances. A plan is
considered top heavy when more than 60% of the plan's assets are owned by key
employees. Our test may be limited by the availability of certain historical
information needed to perform this test. |
| 415 Limit |
An annual test to monitor individual participant contributions. Generally,
annual contributions cannot exceed $40,000 or 100 percent of pay. Our test is
limited to contributions made to this 401(k) plan only and may also be impacted
by specific plan provisions. |
Loan Processing
An option that is appealing to many participants is the ability to borrow money from their
individual account. In accordance with the plan provisions and IRS regulations, our
administrator will help the Plan Sponsor establish loan procedures and perform loan
administration. Related services and reports include:
- Services
Providing loan documentation, loan disbursements, and loan amortization
schedules. Tracking outstanding loan balances, principal, and interest
repayments and crediting such loan repayments to the appropriate investment
options. Loan repayments must be by payroll deduction.
- Reports
Plan sponsors receive the following quarterly loan reports:
- Loan Summary Report A report compiling all loan data per participant loan.
- Principal and Interest Report A report totaling principal and interest loan
payments into each fund.
Plan Sponsor Website Capabilities
SponsorinSight TM, an on-line site for plan sponsors,
is a secure way for plan sponsors to get information about their plan and participants, and
report data to us.
It's easy, fast, and secure. And because information goes straight from the plan sponsor's
records to ours, accuracy is improved. It also means employers spend less time managing
their plan and more time focusing on their business. That's why it's our standard method of
accepting plan data.
Through SponsorinSight TM, you have the following:
Plan Sponsor Website Capabilities:
- Modify indicative or census data
- Add new participants
- Review fund & source balances
- Review and modify contribution elections
- Review transaction history
- Model a sample loan
- Produce loan paperwork/submit loan requests
- Submit termination payouts
- Submit hardship withdrawals (if applicable)
- Submit rollover contributions
- Print a statement-on-demand
- Print enrollment brochures
- Submit contribution elections/deferral percentages
- Review amounts available for loan & hardship (if applicable)
Plan-Level Capabilities:
- Review plan rules
- Review loan rules and maintain interest rate
- Review fund performance information
- Review detailed activity history
- Generate and print plan-level reports
- Update/re-run or print an ADP/ACP test
- Form 5500 data collection questionnaire and information
- Submit Payroll Contributions
Participant Website Capabilities
The participant website provides participants with secure, accutate, and up-to-date
information about their accounts and allows them to initiate transactions when it is convenient
for them. Daily transactions are updated in one business day if received prior to 4 p.m. (EST).
Participant Website Capabilities:
- Change future contribution elections
- Make transfers among current funds
- Re-allocate balances
- View share price/number of shares
- Check daily fund results and prices
- View fund and portfolio summaries
- Sample loan modeling
- Retirement planning tools
- Produce loan paperwork/request loans
- Request distributions
- Print a statement-on-demand
- Print enrollment brochures
- Submit contribution elections/deferral percentages
- Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) access via Palm Pilot™
Planning for Retirement
Participants can also take advantage of the on-line planner that allows them to complete
a simple analysis of their projected retirement plan account and projected financial need
for retirement.
Employee Communication
The Gabelli 401(k) Plan is committed to helping plan sponsors achieve the maximum benefit from
their plan(s). In order to achieve desired participation levels, the long-term benefits of
saving for retirement need to be communicated to your employees. Employee communications must
be well designed and easy to understand. Our communications materials include the following:
- Materials written in plain language
- Category headings which make it easy to scan for topics of interest
- Visually-appealing pie charts and contribution tables
The Gabelli Funds 401(k) plan also includes:
- Enrollment booklets
Contain all pertinent plan information including: customized plan provisions, fund
descriptions, fund performance returns, pie charts of asset allocation strategies,
enrollment forms and personalized contribution charts built from census data.
- Online Plan Administrators Guide
Comprehensive and easy-to-use Plan Administrator's Guide for your reference.
- Participant website
Participants are able to check account balances, change investment elections,
transfer between funds, reallocate balances and model sample loans at their
convenience.
- Participant Statements (example enclosed)
Provide participants with useful information in an easy-to-read format, including:
- Enrollment Presentations
Using a variety of proven methods for increasing participation, a qualified retirement
plan speaker can present the company plan to your employees. The presentation covers
essential retirement plan and investing concepts, guides employees through the
enrollment process, and explains plan features, such as loans, Voice Response, and the
Internet. The presentation is appropriate for first time enrollment or re-enrollment.
Telephone Services
Interactive Voice Response (IVR) System
The Gabelli 401(k) Plan offers a fully automated, 24-hour, interactive voice response
(IVR) telephone system that makes it easy for participants to track and manage their retirement
accounts. Account information is updated daily. Through the IVR, plan sponsors can hear plan
and participant-level information, as well. Individuals can follow the automated steps or
opt to speak to a Client Service Associate for further assistance.
Features available to participants through the IVR:
- English
- Total accoun balances by fund and source
- Vested account balances
- Reallocate account balances
- Transfer balances by percentage
- Set/change contribution elections
- Review fund performance
- Amount available for a loan or hardship withdrawal (if applicable)
- Model a sample loan/submit a loan request
- Request an account balance statement
Client Service Associates
Our goal is to make Plan communications as simple and efficient as possible. We designed the IVR
to be quick and convenient. Still, we recognize that not all customers are comfortable with
automated telephone systems.
If you prefer to speak with a Client Service Associate, just press "0".
If you are calling from a rotary telephone, stay on the line and someone will assist you. Client
Service Associates are available Monday through Friday (except holidays), from 8:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. ET.
Also, our call documentation technology saves plan sponsors and participants from having to explain
their situation each time they call. It provides the Client Service associate with a history of the
conversations the participant had with other associates. All calls are recorded and kept indefinitely
for auditing and security purposes.
Employee Statements
Participants receive easy-to-understand quarterly statements including account balances, fund
performance, current investment direction and account activity.
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