Goldman Sachs is preparing to trim some of its 22,000 staff, according to a report in The New York Post. The paper speculates that the cuts will be numerically small but represent a large savings. Most likely to be let go are relatively senior staff from the investment banking unit, the paper says.



Franklin Resources saw assets under management slip in the first month of 2002. Assets of $264.9 billion were down from $266.3 billion at the end of December. Still, they were strong growth from a January 2001 when assets stood at $232.0 billion.



John Barbano, formerly cto at Merill Lynch's private client business, has recently accepted a spot on the business advisory board of ExpertPlan. The firm provides online retirement administration services and is based in East Windsor, New Jersey.



Landing a gig subadvising Ariel's large cap fund is not making the time's downturn too much easier for Lincoln Capital Management, reports Crain's Chicago Business. Lincoln is still smarting from the loss of its mandate subadvising the $12.4 billion Vanguard U.S. Growth Fund last summer. Lincoln's asset base has shrivelled to $7 billion from $40 billion and it now employs 90 staffers, down 25 percent from the peak.



Financial shennanigans are not limited to Enron, Global Crossing and rogue traders at Irish banks these days. Boston prosecutors allege that two Harvard seniors embezzled some $100,000 from the Hasty Pudding, the oldest college theatre club that was known for other kinds of hijincks prior to last week. The pair spent the ill-gotten gains on trips around the nation, sound equipment and drugs. Both were officers of the club and used its credit cards to make transfers to their own banks.



Financial Engines claims its plan sponsor client base grew from 253 plan sponsors to 650 during 2001. Those clients employ 1.9 million people, up from 535,000 employed by its clients a year ago. The firm also claims that nearly half of its users changed their allocation after using the advice service.



The House Employer-Employee Relations Subcommittee is adding another day of hearings on the defined contribution system and ESOPs. Witnesses, including Jack VanDerhei of EBRI and Temple Uninversity, Douglas Kruse of Rutgers and Rebecca Miller of McGladrey & Pullen, will examine the use and availability of the system.



Plaintiff's lawyers and Congressmen are not the only ones seeking the resignation of the Enron 401(k) plan committee. The Associated Press reports that the Department of Labor (DoL) has been in month-long negotiations aimed at gaining the committee's resignation and replacing it with independant fiduciaries. Former employees asked a judge to remove the members last week. That call was echoed to the DoL by Representative George Miller (D, CA). The efforts are a reaction to revelation made by plan fiduciary Cindy Olson who revealed last week that she had reviewed the "whistle-blowing" memo but not informed the plan adminstrative committee. 

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