Affluent Seniors a Notable Force in Online Financial Pursuits

Affluent seniors over age 70 spend nearly three times as much of their online time on financial matters as those younger.

According to a new report by Spectrem Group, affluent senior citizens above the age of 70 are devoting 32% of their online time to financial pursuits, compared to 13% for those age 70 and younger. In addition, affluent seniors over 70 who have incomes of more than $150,000 a year are spending an even higher percentage of their online time (49%) on financial pursuits.

“Much as we might like to think of managing finances online as the sole domain of the young, affluent seniors are outsurfing them by a healthy margin… Financial services providers would be wise to take this into account when designing new online features and content, lest they risk alienating this important group of affluent investors,” said Catherine S. McBreen, Managing Director of Spectrem Group, in a news release.

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The Spectrem report, “Online Tools: Affluent Use of Provider Web Sites,” is based on a survey of over 500 affluent investors – defined as those with more than $500,000 in investable assets – conducted in August and September 2007.

Those interested in purchasing the Spectrem report should contact Spectrem Group at 641 W. Lake Street, Suite 402, Chicago, IL 60661, (312) 382-8284 or via http://www.spectrem.com.

PLANSPONSOR Announces Finalists for 2008 Retirement Plan Adviser of the Year Award

Today, PLANSPONSOR announces the finalists for its annual Retirement Plan Adviser and Adviser Team of the Year awards.

The award, launched in 2005, recognizes the contributions of the nation’s best financial advisers in helping make retirement security a reality for workers across the nation.

Nominations for the Retirement Plan Adviser and Adviser Team of the Year awards were solicited online from retirement plan advisers, their employers and/or broker/dealers, and plan sponsors, as well as from working partners of these advisers, including investment vendors, accountants and attorneys, and pension administrators (advisers who have attained the PLANSPONSOR Retirement Professional designation receive an automatic nomination). The finalists were selected by an expert panel of judges from a list of semifinalists compiled from a quantitative evaluation of their current service levels and, based on interviews with their plan sponsor clients. The winners will be announced at the annual PLANSPONSOR/PLANADVISER Awards Dinner on April 3, 2008, in New York City.

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This year’s finalists were drawn from a pool of 332 nominations representing more than 200 advisers. Ten advisers received five or more nominations. Information was collected from 216 advisers and, of those, 127 advisers (78 teams and 49 individuals) completed the entry form in its entirety, making them eligible for the award.

The finalists for the Retirement Plan Adviser of the Year are:

  • Gregg Andonian, Baystate Fiduciary Advisors, Inc., a Member Firm of NRP, Milford, MA
  • John Leeson, Investment Research & Advisory Group, Inc., Atlanta, GA
  • John Barry, JMB Wealth Management/National Planning Corporation, Torrance, CA
  • James Sampson, Telamon Insurance & Financial Network, Newton, MA
  • Tom Noble, Noble Retirement Group, a Member Firm of NRP, Sugar Land, TX

The finalists for the Retirement Plan Adviser Team of the Year are:

The Retirement Plan Adviser of the Year and the Retirement Plan Adviser Team of the Year will be profiled in more detail in future issues of PLANSPONSOR magazine and PLANADVISER magazine, and will receive a free registration to the 2008 PLANADVISER National Conference.

“Advisers have become indispensable members of the team for most workplace retirement plans,’ says Nevin Adams, Editor-in-Chief of PLANSPONSOR. “The criteria that underlie the award are simple but impactful; we want to recognize advisers who make a difference through increasing participation, boosting deferral rates, enhancing asset allocation, and/or providing better programs through expanded service or expense management.’

Previous winners of the award include Chad Larsen with Moreton Financial Solutions in Denver, Colorado (2007); Dorann Cafaro of The Cafaro Group in Little Silver, New Jersey (2006); and John Mott of Smith Barney in Houston, Texas (2005). The inaugural PLANSPONSOR Retirement Plan Adviser Team of the Year was the STAR Group with Merrill Lynch in Akron, Ohio, in 2007.

A list of the most successful advisers taken from those nominated for the award can be found here
. More information about the award and prior recipients is online here.

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