Data & Research August 20, 2015

Plan Participants Prefer One-on-One Advice to Group Sessions

They also want personal guidance during enrollment.
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Eighty-eight percent of participants want one-on-one training on their retirement plan, PlanVision found in a survey. PlanVision said this could be due to participants not wanting to appear uninformed in front of colleagues. Only 21% would like the training in a small group, 18% via webinar, and 8% in a classroom.

Nearly all respondents, 96%, want personal guidance during enrollment. Ten percent have no understanding of investments at all, 34% have a limited understanding of investments and 34% said they understand investments reasonably well but would like assistance.

Nearly six out of 10, 58%, don’t know if they’re on track for retirement. Among this group, 70% would like a personalized retirement plan. Only 18% said they feel that they are on track. Among this group, 48% had worked with an adviser. Nearly one quarter, 23%, said retirement was too far away for them to have a good sense of whether they are on track or not.

Asked about risk tolerance, 80% said they ranged from moderate to aggressive. Only 18% said they were conservative or moderately conservative investors. “Most investors are willing to include volatile investments in their portfolio,” PlanVision said. “They understand the long-term nature of the investment and the trade-off of losing money in the short run to have more in their retirement account.” In fact, experts advise investors, even those approaching retirement because of the many years they will face in retirement, to ignore volatility.

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After being given an explanation of fees, 95% said they understood them, with the majority (96%) saying they understood how fees impact their long-term returns. “This is a good sign, and a great start toward helping employees understand their retirement benefits,” PlanVision said. “This should also have a spillover effect and help people become better consumers of investment products on their own.”

PlanVision concluded: “The notion of retirement readiness is emerging in the defined contribution industry. Employer-based retirement plans are expected to play a key role in helping people of all types pursue more flexibility in their retirement years.” PlanVision’s full report can be downloaded here.

Deals & People August 20, 2015

Asset International, Parent Company of PLANADVISER, Appoints New CEO

"This is an exciting time for Asset International and its 11 business units to engage more thoroughly with our clients, with whom we already enjoy deep, broad and collaborative relationships,” says Joel Mandelbaum, CEO and President, Asset International.
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Asset International, Inc. (AI) announced the appointment of Joel Mandelbaum as CEO and President, and his purchase of a material investment interest in Asset International, Inc.

“This is an exciting time for Asset International and its 11 business units to engage more thoroughly with our clients, with whom we already enjoy deep, broad and collaborative relationships. We are dedicated to helping our clients and, in turn, deepen and broaden their offerings to their clients,” explained Mr. Mandelbaum.

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Asset International provides data and research, and organizes events for the global asset management community through 11 respected business units, including:

  • The leading provider of business intelligence and investment flow data for the mutual fund industry worldwide;
  • The foremost thought leader in retirement security, speaking on behalf of corporate and public plan sponsors as well as the retirement plan advisers and consultants that guide them;
  • The premier source of investment news, data and events for the world’s largest public and corporate pensions, nonprofits and sovereign wealth funds;
  • The leading information resource for the international securities custodial industry;
  • The leading content provider for electronic securities trading;
  • A prominent independent provider of trade execution quality analysis;
  • The premier provider of household wealth research and provider of market research and strategy to top financial firms in Canada;
  • The leading provider of mutual fund data and compliance services in Germany; and
  • The leading independent supplier of managed funds, retirement and life insurance market information in Australia.

Asset International was acquired by Genstar Capital in June 2014 and has already made significant investments in its next phase of growth, acquiring FWW in Germany and LiquidMetrix in the UK to expand its European presence and hiring CFO Carolyn Ullerick out of Reed Elsevier’s LexisNexis Group.

Mr. Mandelbaum continued, “Genstar Capital has generously provided an opportunity for me to assemble a world-class executive team of high performers from Asset International, colleagues with whom I have worked in the past and subject matter experts in various fields.”

Tony Salewski, Managing Director of Genstar Capital, added, “We’re very excited to be partnering with Joel in the next phase of the company’s evolution and to continue building the platform through an acceleration of organic, acquisition and internal startup-based growth. Equally important, we embrace Joel’s history of creating value for his clients, opportunity for his staff and responsiveness to his financial partners.”

Mr. Mandelbaum, a graduate of MIT, has deep experience delivering information and workflow solutions to financial services clients, having previously served as CEO of Wall Street Systems; CEO of Financial Sciences Corporation; President at Thomson Market Information Services, for which he oversaw eight business units of Thomson Corporation, now known as Thomson Reuters; and Chief Operations Officer of Dalcomp, now a part of IPREO. Most recently, Joel was an Entrepreneur in Residence at Warburg Pincus, another private equity firm.

About Asset International 
Asset International (AI) provides critical data, business intelligence and information services to the global investment management industry. AI delivers proprietary data and analytics, as well as marketing solutions that target global asset managers. The company’s client base includes more than 500 of the most prominent names in the asset management industry. Its recognized data brands include Strategic Insight, Investor Economics, Corporate Insights, LiquidMetrix, FWW and Plan for Life. AI’s portfolio of leading editorial titles includes brands such as PLANSPONSOR, PLANADVISER, Chief Investment Officer, Global Custodian and The TRADE. The company’s headquarters are in New York, and it maintains offices in Stamford, CT; Boston; the San Francisco Bay area; London; Toronto; Munich; Melbourne, Australia; and Hong Kong. AI is backed by Genstar Capital. For more information, visit www.assetinternational.com.

About Genstar Capital

Genstar Capital (www.gencap.com) is a leading private equity firm that has been actively investing in high quality companies for more than 20 years. Based in San Francisco, Genstar works in partnership with its management teams and its network of operating executives and strategic advisors to transform its portfolio companies into industry-leading businesses. Genstar manages funds with total capital commitments of over $5 billion and targets investments focused on selected sectors within the financial services, software, industrial technology, and healthcare industries.

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