Products & Services July 10, 2025

LeafHouse, Capital Group Introduce Personalized Target-Date Service

Target Date Plus, powered by LeafHouse, uses up to 10 participant data points to customize portfolios for each participant.

Reported by

LeafHouse Financial Advisors LLC and the Capital Group Cos. Inc. launched Target Date Plus, powered by LeafHouse, a data-driven, personalized retirement investing service.

The offering, which can be used as a qualified default investment alternative, brings together Capital Group’s investment expertise with LeafHouse’s fiduciary technology and oversight and is delivered via digital platform iJoin.

Want the latest retirement plan adviser news and insights? Sign up for PLANADVISER newsletters.

Portfolios are customized for each participant using as many as 10 key participant data points—such as income, saving rate, age and retirement timeline—that, according to the companies, require no direct participant engagement. Participants can choose to provide up to six additional data points, including outside assets and other income. LeafHouse builds portfolios that dynamically adjust over time, integrating both the target-date glide path of American Funds with participant behavior insights.

“Target Date Plus is designed to tailor portfolios to participants’ unique needs and goals using actual data,” said Todd Kading, LeafHouse’s president and CEO, in a statement. “People are unique. Their portfolios should be, too. We have built this solution to deliver personalized, fiduciary-managed portfolios at a cost that is appropriate and accessible.”

The Target Date Plus solution also integrates wellness and education tools, with withdrawal advice expected to launch later this year. By leveraging iJoin’s “ACT” technology, recordkeepers and advisers have access to aggregated plan and participant data, enabling them to measure outcomes, send targeted communications and enhance participant engagement.

“Our goal is to deliver strong, long-term results for investors,” said Mark Dence, Capital Group’s retirement national accounts director, in the announcement. “By partnering with LeafHouse, we can offer scalable, personalized retirement solutions supported by proven investment strategies, assisting more individuals in both accumulation and decumulation with their innovative withdrawal advice.”

Data & Research July 9, 2025

Most Investors Believe Financial Advisers Are Crucial to Long-Term Goals

A Morgan Stanley survey found that investors know the importance of having both a professional financial plan and an adviser.

Reported by

Having a professional financial plan not only helps investors achieve their long-term goals, but it also boosts confidence and well-being amid market ambiguity, according to a new survey from Morgan Stanley Wealth Management

The survey, fielded in fall 2024, polled 1,013 affluent investors, each with liquid assets of at least $250,000, between the ages of 25 and 75 about how financial planning fits into their lives.

Want the latest retirement plan adviser news and insights? Sign up for PLANADVISER newsletters.

According to the report, “financial planning” is defined as a “comprehensive process” in which a financial adviser looks at a client’s financial standing and helps the client set and work toward short- and long-term goals.

Benefits of a Plan

Having a financial plan often correlates with more “positive mental wellbeing,” and investors with a plan report greater confidence and satisfaction, according to the report.

The study found that fewer of these investors worry about saving enough (36%, as compared with 47% of those without a plan), and they rate their investment value and financial health higher by 10 percentage points. Further, these investors are also more likely to say they feel “prepared” and “hopeful” about their financial outlook, and they report better mental health about their general life direction and relationships.

Despite these perceived feelings, there is still a “knowledge confidence gap” among respondents. The report found that while 53% of those working say they are confident in saving for retirement, only 36% said they feel very confident that they know how to do so.

A large majority of respondents (66%) said they lack confidence in achieving their long-term goals; this number was higher among women (68%) and younger investors (70% of Millennials, 72% of Generation Z), according to the report.

Advisers Make a Clear Difference

While most investors (97%) recognized how important financial planning is, only about half (53%) have a plan, according to the survey.

A main reason for this disconnect is barriers that respondents claimed are roadblocks to planning, including high costs (53%), thinking they can achieve similar results on their own (44%) or lack of assets (38%).

These perceived barriers are an opportunity for advisers, according to Morgan Stanley. About three out of four investors surveyed (74%) said they believe that using a financial professional is crucial, “demonstrating that the value proposition for professional guidance is well understood.”

Among investors who work with a financial adviser, those with a plan are “significantly more engaged.” According to the survey, 51% meet with their adviser (vs. only 25% of ones without a plan) and 37% actively review adviser communications (vs. 20%).

According to the summary, these numbers show a large opportunity for advisers “to enhance client relationships and engagement through comprehensive financial planning.”

«