Wellness resources that educate participants on a variety of
financial topics—beyond just maximizing the 401(k) benefit—are crucial for an effective
and holistic retirement planning experience.
But it is also important to consider the choice and
information ecosystem in which financial wellness resources are presented,
according to a new Corporate Insight report, “Providing the Tools to Build
Financial Wellness: Analyzing Participant Site Financial Wellness Tools and
Calculators.”
The analysis finds retirement plan service providers “recognize
the importance of providing retirement plan participants with the resources
they need to assess
and improve their financial wellness, with 85% offering access to multiple
financial wellness tools on their participant sites. The growing popularity of
online financial wellness tools and calculators is among the most notable
trends in the retirement space.”
Corporate Insight finds 40% of firms polled have introduced
new financial wellness resources since the start of 2016. Most have made at
least a reasonable effort to effectively organize and present their tools.
“The firms examined in this report generally provide easy
access to their financial wellness resources, with almost 90% providing
dedicated calculator sections or pages, 73% of which centralize access to all
tools,” researchers explain. “The coverage group, however, has little
consistency with respect to the topics covered by the available tools.”
As the report suggests, “college savings planners”
are the only tools offered by more than half of the firms monitored and
are available on 65% of sites. This is despite a fairly
slow general uptake among investors of solutions such as 529 college
savings plans.
Researchers further observe that just five of the additional
28 financial wellness topics asked about are addressed by more than one-quarter
of firms. These include: IRAs (47%), taking advantage of compounding (41%), Social Security benefits
(41%), life insurance (35%) and saving for a specific goal (29%).
Other findings show nearly half of the firms (47%) “exclusively
offer third-party resources through the same provider, such as Dinkytown or
DST, leading to general consistency in the user experiences of these firms’ tools.
Approximately 88% of firms frequently incorporate data visualizations into
results; however, firms often fall short of providing additional desirable
result features, such as calls to action (41%) and scenario comparisons (6%).”
By using this site you agree to our network wide Privacy Policy.
Portland-based investment firm Arnerich Massena has promoted Chris
Van Dyke to a senior consultant position in the firm. He will be tasked
with consulting public, private and non-profit organizations in the firm’s
institutional group. He serves on the company’s Investment Committee, Portfolio
Management Committee, and Product Committee. Van Dyke has also joined the
firm’s shareholder group as a principal of the firm.
“Chris is a tremendous asset to the firm, and this promotion
is an acknowledgment of his expertise and industry acumen,” says Terri Schwartz, managing director of Institutional Services. “He’s done fantastic client work, and we’re pleased to elevate
him into a senior position.”
Van Dyke brings more than 16 years of industry experience
which saw him serve various firms including the Stratford Advisory Group and
CTC Consulting. He earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Oregon. He
has earned the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and Chartered Alternative Investment
Analyst (CAIA) designations, and is a member of the Portland Society of
Financial Analysts.
NEXT: AssetMark Hires
Chief Information Officer
AssetMark Hires Chief
Information Officer
Mukesh (Muk) Mehta has
joined AssetMark, a provider of
investment and consulting solutions for financial advisers, as the firm’s chief information officer. He will lead
AssetMark’s technology platform.
Mehta has spent more than 20 years
in the industry developing technology systems and solutions utilized by
financial advisers. He served this role in the past for Cetera Financial, TD
Ameritrade and Schwab Institutional, where he also served as senior vice president.
“We couldn’t be happier to have
Muk join our team,” says Charles Goldman,
president and CEO of AssetMark. “He is an extraordinarily talented executive with
proven ability to develop comprehensive solutions that address the needs of
advisers.”
NEXT: LMGC Expands Advisory Space
LMGC Expands Advisory
Space
Melanie Karlberg
has joined LMGC Investments as managing director, National Accounts, to support the firm’s growth in the financial
advisory channel. In this newly created position, Karlberg will focus on
building and maintaining relationships with financial advisers in home offices,
with a focus on developing their knowledge of LMCG’s specialized strategies and
how to apply them in clients’ portfolios.
Karlberg brings to her role more than 20 years of experience
in the financial services industry, where she has worked with home offices,
advisers and their clients. She has also worked with due diligence teams.
Previous roles include regional and financial planning consultant at Fidelity
Investments and senior vice president for managing key client relationships
with F-Squared Investments. Most recently, she was a partner at Tenaz
Consulting, a marketing and consulting firm she co-founded. She received her
bachelor’s degree from Bryant University and is a Certified Financial Planner
(CFP).
“Bringing Melanie to our team reinforces our commitment to
working with financial advisers and their clients – leveraging LMCG’s
institutional strategies,” says Kenneth
L. Swan, CEO of LMCG
Investments. “Melanie’s background is ideal to help expand LMCG’s adviser
relationships. As a former financial adviser and accomplished sales and client
services professional, she will aid advisers in understanding how to fully
capture the benefits of our investment strategies and help reach their clients’
goals.”
NEXT:Arnerich Massena
Promotes DC Consultant
Arnerich Massena
Promotes DC Consultant
Portland-based
investment firm Arnerich Massena has
promoted Ryan Cunningham, CAIA, to a senior consultant position for the company’s institutional
practice. He will consult corporate
defined contribution plans, pension plans, non-profit endowments and
foundations. Cunningham
will focus on all aspects
of investment consulting from menu structure to vendor searches through
investment manager transitions and implementation assistance. He will
also present thought leadership
through speaking engagements, researching white papers, and writing articles.
Cunningham also serves
on the company’s Investment Committee and as the Portfolio Management Committee
chair.
He has more than 15 years of experience in the financial services
industry. Before coming on board to Arnerich, he served as
investment consultant with RVK. He earned a master’s degree from the McCombs School of
Business at the University of Texas at Austin with a dual concentration in
finance and accounting. He holds the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst
(CAIA) designation and is a member of the Portland chapter of the CFA Society.
He is an active member of the Portland Alternative Investment Association and
currently serves on the Association’s Board of Directors.
Terri Schwartz, managing director of Institutional Services says, “Ryan has
demonstrated a profound depth of expertise and knowledge; he understands this
industry and is able to help our clients navigate its complexity. This
promotion is a reflection of the great work that he’s done for clients, the
skill that he brings to his work, and his demonstrated thought leadership in
the firm.”
NEXT: Sikich to Acquire
Evolution Retirement Services
Sikich to Acquire
Evolution Retirement Services
Professional services firmSikich will acquire Evolution Retirement Services (ERS), a provider of retirement plan design
and administrative services for small and mid-size businesses. The ERS team will
add to Sikich’s employee benefit services practice, which assists companies
with benefit plan design, administration and compliance.
Based near Milwaukee, ERS helps companies servicing various
plans including profit-sharing plans, 401(k) plans, money purchase pensions and
cash balance plans. The company’s employees will join Sikich’s office in
Brookfield, Wisconsin.
“Our team is skilled at helping companies develop and
administer employee benefit plans that enable them to attract and retain
talent,” says Chris Geier, CEOand managing partner of Sikich. “At
the same time, we help them comply with complex regulatory requirements. The
addition of Evolution Retirement Services will add depth to our employee
benefit services practice and enhance the retirement planning services we offer
companies across industries.”
ERS President Mark
Maurice adds, “We are very excited and proud to be joining Sikich. This deal
allows for regional expansion of our retirement plan administration services
and ensures long-term stability for our employees and clients. Further,
Sikich’s depth of expertise across its various practice areas will enable us to
offer our clients new insights and services.”
NEXT: Sheridan Road Financial Hires Senior Development
Officer
Sheridan Road Financial Hires Senior Development
Officer
Troy Tarr has
joined Sheridan Road Financial, a national
institutional investment consulting firm as senior business development
officer.
Tarr has more than 20 years of industry experience. Before
joining Sheridan Road, he served as senior vice president, head of retirement
income solutions for 3D Asset Management. He’s also worked as national sales
manager, head of 401(k) sales for Aspire Financial Services. His experience
also includes stints with ADP, NRP, and LPL Retirement Services
"Jim and I have known
Troy forever and we are very excited to have Troy join Sheridan Road. He brings
a tremendous amount of energy and excitement to us as we continue to build our
business development capabilities,” said Daniel
Bryant, managing partner.
Based in Chicago, Illinois, Sheridan Road Financial provides institutional
investment consulting and private wealth management services.
NEXT: Nationwide Appoints Leader of 401(k) business
Nationwide Appoints
Leader of 401(k) business
Kevin Devine has
been named Nationwide’sleader of itsadviser-sold 401(k) business. He will be tasked with leading
strategic direction to drive sales growth across the firm’s private-sector book
of business while driving sales momentum within retirement plans. Devine has
served as divisional vice president of the firm’s Northeast region since 2011.
He joined the firm in 2000.
“Our sales staff is one of the largest and most tenured in
the industry and includes several wholesalers who are recognized by the
National Association of Plan Advisors as top service providers,” says Eric Stevenson, senior vice president of retirement
plan sales for Nationwide. “Kevin’s leadership and experience will help us
continue to expand our market share and increase our 401(k) plan sales across
the country.”
Earlier this year, Nationwide announced that it was aligning
its retirement plans distribution team under the leadership of Stevenson.