Products June 9, 2011

MetLife Expands Financial Education Offering

MetLife is expanding its workplace financial and retirement educational programs with a series of workshops covering an array of financial topics, known as PlanSmart.
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MetLife’s PlanSmart series provides financial education to employees at no cost to the employer or employee, the company announced. It builds upon MetLife’s retirewise program, by adding workshops on managing credit, college funding, estate planning, and financial solutions for families who care for dependents with special needs. After completing one of the workshops, employees are given the option to consult individually with a MetLife professional on site or at home.   

PlanSmart also includes decision-support assistance for employees faced with life changes who may need education and guidance regarding their group life benefits. Transition Solutions aids employees who have a change in their group life coverage for any reason, such as retirement or leaving a company.   

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Another resource is access to MetLife’s Delivering The Promise program, where experienced MetLife professionals help beneficiaries work through claims and benefit issues following a death in the family.  

“PlanSmart addresses employees’ needs for objective, straightforward guidance to navigate personal financial challenges, from day-to-day ones like managing credit to meeting longer-term expenses and goals, such as planning for a child’s college education or for retirement,” said  Gary L. Simpson, vice president. “Workplace education opportunities like these help to foster a sense of ‘financial wellness’ among employees, which in turn contributes to a more dedicated and productive workforce.”
Products June 9, 2011

Aperio Group Releases Catholic Advocacy Portfolio

Financial advisory firm Aperio Group LLC has partnered with Aquinas Associates to develop a portfolio that adheres to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) socially responsive investing guidelines.
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The Catholic Advocacy Portfolio, which was designed for high net worth and institutional investors, seeks to match the performance of the broad equity market while meeting and exceeding the USCCB Guidelines. The funds in the portfolio underwent a screening process developed by Aquinas Associates, and will continue to be subject to active corporate participation. The Catholic Advocacy Portfolio is designed to track the broad equity market and is forecasted to have a tracking error of less than 1%. 

Companies included in the Aperio Catholic Advocacy universe must first prove that they do not exceed a maximum threshold involvement in abortion, contraception, cloning, human embryonic stem cell and fetal research, pornography, military weapons of mass destruction, landmines, tobacco, alcohol or gambling.  

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In order to fully comply with USCCB guidelines, Aquinas Associates (acting on behalf of investors) engages companies on issues such as human rights, racial and gender discrimination, labor standards, access to pharmaceuticals, affordable housing/banking, protecting the environment, global warming, access to water, and encouraging corporate responsibility.

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