Data & Research February 4, 2011

Women Are Behind Men in Retirement Savings

A LIMRA study found defined contribution plan participation and deferral rates are nearly identical for women and men, yet women's totals are falling short.
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Women’s average DC plan balances are only 60% of men’s average, according to LIMRA’s Gender Matters report. Half of women and 37% of men have $15,000 or less saved in their DC plans. The study found 54% of women and 62% of men cite retirement as one of their household’s most important reasons for saving.   

Women are slightly more likely than men to believe they have not done enough planning for retirement, 62% and 56%, respectively. Less than half (47%) of women say they are very involved in monitoring and managing their retirement savings, compared to 55% of men.  

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Fifty-six percent of women rate themselves as somewhat to very knowledgeable about financial products and services, compared to 73% of men. Among employees whose households typically work with a paid professional to make at least some their investment decisions, 68% of men and 74% of women identify a financial adviser or planner as one of their sources of information on financial products and services.   

Men are more likely than women to consult the Internet for information on financial products and services, 54% and 40%, respectively. 

For the new analysis, LIMRA used data from the Comparison of Not-for-Profit Employees and For-Profit Employees study (see “Comparing DC Plan Behavior of For-Profit and Not-For-Profit Employees“), which included interviews with 1,211 women and 1,282 men. 

Products February 4, 2011

TD Ameritrade Offers Professional Development Tools for RIAs

TD Ameritrade Institutional is launching TD Ameritrade Advisor Education, a customizable learning management system for independent registered investment advisers (RIAs). 
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The learning management system is designed to help advisers enhance their expertise and develop the skills of employees, the company said.   

Advisor Education will allow advisers and their employees to access educational tracks in the areas of investment and planning strategies, practice management, technology, and operations. Advisers can track staff learning activities, participation and progress. In addition to expanded education resources and tools, advisers will have access to TD Ameritrade Institutional Solutions Consultants, who can assist in the development of human capital strategies.

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Spearheading the program will be Tess Kristensen, named Dean of Advisor Education by TD Ameritrade Institutional.

“Advisers need continued education to maintain credibility and add value for their clients. However, advisers are often paralyzed by disparate offerings and have difficulty assessing the quality of programs,” said Kristensen. “By bringing best-in-class courses, tools and content all together in one place, and by leveraging our internal expertise developing human capital for our advisers’ benefit,  TD Ameritrade Institutional demonstrates a commitment to helping RIAs.”

Kristensen will be responsible for the educational content available on the Advisor Education platform. Content can be searched through an online catalog and be accessed through a variety of channels including computer-based training, whitepapers, Webcasts, and seminars. The resource center will be made available this quarter and is intended to continually evolve, with its future growth driven by advisers’ needs, according to the company.

 

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