Deals & People October 31, 2014

Advanced Capital Group Opens Chicago Office

Advanced Capital Group (ACG), a registered investment advisory firm, is opening an office in Chicago, Illinois.
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The Chicago office will extend the geographic scope of ACG’s institutional investment consulting for employer-sponsored retirement plans, endowments and foundations, and Native American tribal trusts, as well as its institutional fixed-income investment management services, which includes customized corporate cash management and bank/insurance company portfolio management.  

ACG also announced David Schmidt will oversee its Chicago operations. An industry veteran with firms such as TIAA-CREF, Valic, ING and Morgan Stanley, Schmidt has been a managing consultant serving both public and private institutional clients throughout Illinois, Wisconsin and Iowa. He has provided retirement plan sponsors of 403(b), 457 and 401(a) plans with plan consulting, compliance, benefit administration, plan design, employee education and communication services.   

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In addition to his professional interest in financial services and retirement planning, Schmidt’s civic involvement includes elected positions held at the local level in Cook County as Township Committeeman, Township Trustee and Village Trustee. His appointed positions were held at the state level in Springfield as a Public Member of the State Board of Financial and Professional Regulation and the Chair of the Investment Advisory Committee to the Illinois Public Pension Division.

“Using the successful development of our diverse offerings of institutional fee-only investment consulting and investment management as our base, we look forward to sharing our solutions with a broader audience,” says Charles Langowski, president and CEO of ACG. “By outsourcing retirement plan governance, oversight and education to ACG, plan sponsors get the experience and resources of a nationally recognized investment advisory firm.”

Data & Research October 31, 2014

‘Falling Back’ Brings Extra Hour for Financial Planning

Given an extra hour to focus on their finances, most women say they’d work on budgets and learn more about investing, according to a Fidelity Investments survey.
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Fidelity suggests plan sponsors and advisers could use the end of Daylight Saving Time approaching this Sunday, November 2, when people “fall back” and get an extra hour of sleep, to urge participants to take an hour to do a personal financial assessment.

To that end, Fidelity asked women investors what they would do if they had 60 more minutes to dedicate solely to their financial future. The top three answers were:

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  • Work on a budget to reduce debt or find new ways to save (42%);
  • Learn how to become a better investor (24%); and
  • Develop a financial plan and investment strategy (13%).

Managing finances and long-term planning are just a small piece of a large pie of plan participants are responsible for, Fidelity notes, and while many place these items on their “to-do” list, other priorities often take precedence. As a result, many women have been unable to make financial planning a priority, Fidelity says.

Nearly one-in-four women report they do not take part in financial decisions at all. Given the probability that a majority of women will need to be solely responsible for the finances at some point in their lives—whether due to divorce or outliving a spouse—it’s imperative they take their financial futures into their own hands, Fidelity says.

“Many women don’t realize the same attributes that have made them dedicated savers can also make them great investors, and making improvements to a financial plan is easier than they think,” suggests Kristen Robinson, senior vice president, Fidelity Investments. “It’s critically important that women get more engaged in their finances now, and we’re encouraging all women to use the hour we gain this weekend to get started, to ensure the money they work so hard to earn is working just as hard for them.”

In an interesting take on the financial engagement question, Fidelity asked women to identify their approach to investing and money management by using a popular song title. Forty-five percent of respondents named “Independent Woman” as their financial theme song, indicating they feel confident in handling their financial portfolio on their own. Another 23% selected “I Turn to You,” meaning they rely on the help of a financial adviser, spouse or other family members. Most concerning, Fidelity says, is the 12% of women who selected “S.O.S (Rescue Me),” stating they need serious help with their investments.

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