Back on Tuesday we mentioned that Herb Kohl's Senate Special Committee on Again would hold a hearing on target-date funds, with special emphasis on their role in retirement plans. And hold that hearing they did.

The testimony the committee heard was all well and good, but the substantive issues are best captured in this staff report, revealingly subtitled "Lack of Clarity Among Structures and Fees Raises Concerns." If you're into this sort of thing, we recommend that you take a look. The good stuff starts on page 8.

The Target-Date debate heads to Capitol Hill tomorrow, as the Senate Special Committee on Aging holds hearings on conflicts-of-interest in target-date vehicles. Here's a four-minute preview of some of the issues from CNBC, featuring Interlake's friend and colleague Mike Alfred of BrightScope:

The number of exchange-traded products on Deathwatch increased for the first time in five months. This month’s list of 142 names is up from 134 last month while still remaining below the record high of 171 in March. The current list consists of 105 ETFs and 37 ETNs that are at least six months old and failed to have an Average Daily Value Traded (ADVT) of at least $100,000 during July.

Claymore/Morningstar Information Super Sector Index ETF (MZN) tops the list this month. It only managed to trade a measly 45 shares per day on average. This translates to an ADVT of just $813. A closer look reveals that all of its trading took place on just two days, with 896 shares changing hands on July 1 and 100 more shares on July 21. The other 20 trading days it showed up in the zero volume reports.

Via the eNewsletter published every Monday by 401kHelpCenter.com, we ran across a strange Pensions & Investments story on the allegedly ill effects of shifting default investments from cash-equivalent investments to more equity-centric target-date funds. Here are the opening 'graphs:

Defined contribution plan participants have been exposed to more financial market risk by the increased use of target-date fund strategies as default investment options and away from more secure investments, according to a new study by Greenwich Associates.

On November 7, iShares, which is owned by Barclays (BCS) Global Investors (BGI), announced the premiere of a new series of “target date” ETFs designed to help investors prepare for an anticipated need for funding, like college tuition or retirement. Each fund has a different investment time horizon, allowing individuals to select a fund that corresponds with the date that they anticipate needing the investment capital. As the fund’s target date approaches, the asset allocation shifts, providing a more conservative investment portfolio to help ensure the availability of the capital. While the popularity of mutual funds with similar target-date methodology will undoubtedly bode well for the eight new iShares funds, the passive indexing approach inherent to ETF models will require investors to keep a closer eye on both opportunities and opportunity cost.

While the new target-date funds represent a new strategy from the iShares family of ETFs, the target-date strategy is not unique to the investment arena or even the broader universe of available exchange-traded products. The iShares launch comes on the heels of a similar family of products introduced by TD Ameritrade last year. The TDX Independence funds have 2010 (TDD), 2020 (TDH), 2030 (TDN), 2040 (TDV) and “in target” (TDX) time frames, roughly half the target dates offered by iShares. The two families of products also differ in their construction: The TDX Independence funds are composed of individual equities and bonds, while iShares’ new offerings are designed as funds of funds, consisting solely of ETFs from the iShares universe of products.

The exchange traded fund industry is continuing to fight for the assets within the 401(k) retirement area, and the time is opportune as ever.

Barclays Globlal Investors has introduced a series of target-date funds, something that has become especially popular in retirement plans. John Spence for The Wall Street Journal explains these mutual funds are designed to manage portfolios by directing the allocations to stocks and bonds as workers approach retirement.

The new funds are, with their expense ratios:

TDAX Independence 2010 ETF (TDD)
TDAX Independence 2020 ETF (TDH)
TDAX Independence 2030 ETF (TDN)
TDAX Independence 2040 ETF (TDV)
TDAX Independence In-Target ETF (TDX)
iShares S&P Target Date Retirement Income Index Fund (TGR)
iShares S&P Target Date 2010 Index Fund (TZD)
iShares S&P Target Date 2015 Index Fund (TZE)
iShares S&P Target Date 2020 Index Fund (TZG)
iShares S&P Target Date 2025 Index Fund (TZI)
iShares S&P Target Date 2030 Index Fund (TZL)
iShares S&P Target Date 2035 Index Fund (TZO)
iShares S&P Target Date 2040 Index Fund (TZV)