ClientsFirst is a proprietary client communication and
client acquisition system, designed to identify prospective clients, reinforce
existing relationships, increase referrals, segment client leads, and implement
a marketing strategy with customizable marketing materials.
The enhanced version was built specifically for LPL
Retirement Partners advisers, the company announced, and includes specific
resources and information including:
Ready-made marketing campaigns encompassing a range of
relevant topics for the retirement plan space, such as fee disclosure,
participant engagement, and non-qualified deferred compensation
Newsletters, articles and seminars for prospecting and
relationship development
An extensive library on social media such as a step-by-step
guide to establishing your profiles, managing relationships and navigating
compliance concerns
“We are excited to roll out to our advisers one of the most
robust retirement plan focused marketing platforms that exists today in the
independent broker/dealer space.We are
confident that the addition of this platform to our existing tools and support
will further drive the growth of our advisers’ businesses,” said Bill Chetney,
executive vice president of LPL Financial Retirement Partners.
LPL Financial is a wholly owned subsidiary of LPL Investment
Holdings Inc.
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Putnam Finds Discipline Can Matter as Much as Earnings
Based
on a nationwide survey of more than 3,000 working adults, Putnam Investments has debunked
several perceptions about American’s level of retirement readiness.
The survey used Putnam’s recently developed “Lifetime Income
Score (LIS)” to analyze the results; it was designed to estimate the level of
income that U.S. households are currently on track to replace in
retirement.The scores are given as a
percentage of income that is expected to be replaced in retirement. In the
survey of 3,290 working adults, ages 18 to 65, the median LIS was 64%, which includes Social Security.
Based on the survey findings, Putnam was able to debunk four
commonly accepted ideas surrounding American’s level of retirement readiness. The first of
which is that Americans are ill-prepared for retirement and have “utterly
inadequate” savings, said Merl Baker of Brightwork Partners, which conducted
the survey for Putnam. At a press briefing
to announce the findings, Baker said the median LIS score of 64% was quite
encouraging, considering how little people are saving. He pointed out that
about half of that 64% income replacement is due to Social Security.
This brought up another common misperception – Americans are
on their own when it comes to saving for retirement; the government is out of
the picture. This is not true, said Baker, “it is a partnership. Social
Security accounts for about half of the Lifetime Income Score, especially for lower
income households,” he added.
Perhaps the most “assumed” notion towards retirement
readiness is that affluent Americans will have the easiest time achieving 100%
income replacement during their retirement years. The survey found that this is
not the case; households with high or low incomes can achieve an LIS of 100%. Putnam
suggests that financial behavior plays a bigger role than what was previously
accepted; this includes defined contribution plan participation, the use of an adviser,
and a general propensity to save.
Putnam found that eligibility to participate in an employer-plan
was the most important factor for achieving a high LIS, regardless of income. Those
with access to a workplace-sponsored plan achieved scores that were nearly
twice as high as those without access to a plan.This is critical considering that 40% of
employees in the private sector still do not have access to a defined
contribution plan, a statistic Putnam cited from the U.S. Bureau of Labor.
The fourth misperception of retirement readiness Putnam
addressed is that Americans are deluding themselves about their financial
situation. Its survey found that those who are better prepared for retirement
are confident whereas those who are not prepared are aware they are in bad
shape.
Most prepared versus
least prepared
Putnam analyzed the characteristics of those who achieved
the highest income replacement scores – some reaching 124% – versus the
characteristics of those with the lowest scores – some on track to replace only 46%
of their income in retirement. Those who are most prepared were contributing
10% or more to a defined contribution plan. Even those who contribute 4%-10% achieve 84%
replacement. Those who did not defer any of their income scored 58%. The least
prepared Americans are households that are not eligible for an
employer-sponsored plan. If Social
Security is removed, their LIS plummets from 46% to 8%.
Using professional advice also boosted an LIS. Those with a
paid adviser scored 82%, while those without an adviser scored 61%, regardless
of income level.And if Social Security
is taken out of the equation, those with an adviser still manage to achieve 51%
income replacement, and those without reach 23%.
At the press briefing, Putnam also unveiled its new Putnam
Institute, a think-tank focusing on key issues in portfolio management and
retirement, and financial planning education to financial advisers. The
Putnam Institute’s first report discusses how equity allocation in a portfolio
should be substantially less than where it currently stands – however, Dr. Van
Harlow, Director of the Putnam Institute, pointed out that asset allocation plays a
relatively small role in achieving a high LIS (see “Study Suggests Lifecycle Funds’ Equity Allocations too High”).
President and CEO of Putnam Investments, Bob Reynolds, concluded
that a high savings rate and access to a defined contribution plan are the most critical factors
to achieving a high level of income replacement in retirement, at any income
level. He also said Washington D.C. needs to take the Social Security dilemma
and make it solvent. “Social Security plus a high deferral rate is the vaccine
against elderly poverty,” he said, adding that the industry needs to push out the message
that a 10% deferral rate needs to become the new reality.