Harrington’s appointment is the latest in a recent
series of hires underscoring OMAM’s commitment to its global distribution
strategy.
Harrington is responsible for providing
consultants with greater insight and transparency into OMAM’s strategy as well
as its broad range of affiliate investment capabilities. He will be based
in Boston and report to Brian
Carroll, head of U.S. Distribution.
Before joining OMAM, Harrington held various
consultant relations positions, including vice president, consultant relations
and sales for Acadian Asset Management, an OMAM-affiliated firm.
“We are pleased to welcome John to lead our
consultant relations efforts,” said Carroll. “John’s successful track record of
building strong relationships with the investment consulting community combined
with his personal experience working for one of our affiliates make him uniquely
suited for this position.”
Harrington began his career 20 years ago with
Fidelity Investments after receiving a bachelor’s degree in English from Boston College. He also holds a master’s of business
administration and a master’s of science in finance from Boston
College’s Carroll School of Management. He
also holds a master’s in Anglo-Irish literature from University College in
Dublin.
OMAM is the U.S.-based global asset
management business of Old Mutual PLC.
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Savers Worry They Will Outlive Retirement Nest Egg
Only about
one in six people (16%) worldwide is confident their current savings are
sufficient to cover financial needs after retirement, a survey found.
Accenture found more than half of respondents do not know
how to prepare for retirement, while nearly half turn to friends and family for
retirement advice before life insurers and banks.
More than four out of five people (82%) are concerned about
their financial situation after retirement and almost nine in 10 (89%) say it
is important to start saving now.
The survey also reveals that more than half (53%) of the
respondents believe they lack the necessary information to prepare for
retirement and the financial capacity (57%) to invest in private pension.
While a large majority (93%) recognize that they will need
to rely partly or wholly on their personal savings to cover their
post-retirement financial needs, more than two-thirds (67%) do not know how
much they need to save to guarantee their standard of living in retirement.
Less than one-third (29%) have private investments aimed
specifically at addressing their retirement needs (in addition to any employer
or public pension funds from which they may benefit).
“The strong common global concerns about post-retirement
financial security are alarming,” said Mark A. Halverson, a managing director
in Accenture’s Financial Services group. “In the current economic environment,
people are increasingly worried about their financial future. They are willing
to save money but have limited financial knowledge and limited saving abilities
to actually do so. These findings reveal a major unmet demand for retirement
planning that industry professionals can help address.”
(Cont...)
People often do not use professional advisers, such as life
insurers, for information and advice on retirement investments. They are more
likely to ask independent financial advisers (51%) and friends and family (44%)
for advice on the best retirement options than to rely on insurers (41%) and
banks (39%).
The majority (86%) say they have limited or no knowledge of
retirement products offered by life insurers.
Almost half (45%) say they have never received simple,
comprehensible retirement planning information from any life insurer, and one-fifth
(20%) state they have never been contacted by any life insurer to discuss
retirement issues.
“[Life insurers] need to do a better job of educating and
relating to their current and potential customers and seeking new interactive
ways to provide them with the advice people ultimately need: how to arrange
their finances to make these products affordable,” said Halverson. “They will
have to create simple, cost-effective retirement products—ideally, with the
ability for customers to switch products if their circumstances change or they
find they have chosen the wrong one.”
Eighty-six percent say they would purchase a retirement
product from a provider that offers them clear comparisons of several
investment options, highlighting the pros and cons, while 82% want a clear
understanding of what their financial needs would be after retirement and a
clear illustration of projected financial value of each investment option.
(Cont...)
Sentiment toward retirement varies geographically. Compared
with the global average of 82%, Britons, Germans, Australians and Americans are
the most optimistic, with 65%, 66%, 69% and 70% of respondents, respectively,
who say they are worried about their financial situation after retirement.
South Koreans (95%), Mexicans (92%), Russians (92%) and Spanish (91%) are the
most pessimistic.
Indians, Chinese and Americans are the most confident about
their current level of savings with 39%, 28%, 21%, respectively, believing that
they are saving sufficiently for retirement, compared with the global average
of 16%. Russians (4%), Japanese (5%) and South Koreans (8%) are the least
confident.
Accenture commissioned the survey, conducted by phone, of 8,112
individuals between the ages of 25 and 60 in 15 countries in March.