Products March 13, 2018

Empower Launches ‘End-to-End’ Retirement Planning Solution

My Total Retirement is designed to help an individual from the goal-setting stage at the start of the one’s career through a withdrawal strategy that’s implemented when their working years conclude.

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Empower Retirement will launch an end-to-end retirement management experience for plan participants designed to help an individual from the goal-setting stage at the start of the one’s career through a withdrawal strategy that’s implemented when their working years conclude.

The new offering, called My Total Retirement, blends a traditional retirement managed account with a digital and mobile multi-touch experience designed to help meet the needs of today’s employees.

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In addition, Empower is announcing plans for a phased launch of a new brand for its participant offering, called EmpowerUp, which is to be focused on the broad needs of individuals. The new program will join My Total Retirement with health care savings, budget management, decision support tools and other elements of Empower’s current suite of retirement services.

My Total Retirement will fully integrate into Empower’s online participant experience. Individuals can use the new offering to view and model their savings as potential future monthly income. Empower will pull real-time data from all of a participant’s income sources, savings and investment accounts and integrate those factors with demographic data into a planning experience using the input of investment professionals and Empower proprietary technology.

My Total Retirement will include a multi-channel participant communication program that provides and implements personalized recommendations and is designed to increase engagement and action.

Employees in retirement plans that implement My Total Retirement will have access to a range of services through Empower Retirement Advisory Services provided by Advised Assets Group, LLC, a registered investment adviser. Advised Assets Group is a part of Great-West Investments, which has more than $100 billion under management or supervision.

According to Empower, through My Total Retirement, employees will have a new means to:

  • Personalize their strategy: The new offering creates full alignment with each employee’s life situation and goals to create a holistic view of all relevant information from inside and outside the retirement plan;
  • Manage as needs change: Participants will have access to ongoing professional investment management, with regular reviews and access to one-on-one support with investment adviser representatives;
  • Transition to retirement: As one’s working years draw to a close, their strategy shifts to a focus on capital preservation with steady retirement income; and
  • Optimize for Social Security: Participants can receive guidance to help get the most from Social Security.

The new experience includes ongoing access to a team of specially trained investment adviser representatives who can answer questions about an employee’s current strategy, discuss any changes to goals or potential income sources and help an employee personalize their profile for a more customized strategy.

“We will be offering My Total Retirement so that employers and their advisers can help employees with a holistic retirement planning experience that goes beyond savings and investing,” says Edmund F. Murphy III, president of Empower Retirement.

Murphy notes that My Total Retirement includes fiduciary support that is designed to keep the best interests of participants in mind through improved employee education. In line with U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Qualified Default Investment Alternative (QDIA) rules My Total Retirement may serve as a plan’s default option.

Later this year, Empower will unveil a new branded participant program that will bring many elements of the firm’s offering in to a single holistic and integrated experience.  EmpowerUp will provide engaging features and educational elements designed to make it easy for individuals to take action on their financial health and wealth.

EmpowerUp will serve as a unifying theme, guiding participants to take steps to increase savings, invest wisely, manage their budget, plan for health care and consider their entire financial picture as they save for the future. 

Murphy explains that the new program will be formally rolled out later this year with additional elements to come through a strategy of ongoing enhancements.
Data and Research March 13, 2018

Majority of Women Under 40 Do Not Have a Financial Adviser

Seventy percent of female financial advisers say women are underserved

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Seventy percent of female financial advisers say women investors are underserved as a broad demographic group, Edward Jones learned from a survey conducted during its third Annual Women’s Conference. This reinforces findings from the Center for Talent Innovations that discovered 75% of women under the age of 40 do not have a financial adviser. This amounts to $5 trillion in under-leveraged assets, Edward Jones says.

“With nearly 60% of wealth in the United States owned by women, amounting to over $11 trillion in assets, it is important that the financial services industry engages and deeply serves this critical group,” says Katherine Mauzy, principal of financial adviser talent acquisition at Edward Jones. “We are committed to understanding the specific concerns and challenges facing our female clients, which enables us to both attract and retain them.”

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Ninety-four percent of survey respondents said that leveraging existing client relationships through word of mouth is the strategy they use to attract new female clients. Fifty-five percent partner with other financial professionals, and 30% create women’s networking groups.

Nineteen percent said there have been no advancements in the past three to five years to ensure women receive equal opportunities in the financial services industry as men. Fifty-one percent said advancements have been made, but there is still much more work that needs to be done to attract women financial advisers.

Fifty-two percent said that if women were in top executive positions at financial services firms, that would attract more women to the industry. Edward Jones said this complements findings from a study by The Rockefeller Foundation that found 76% of women consider whether there are women in leadership positions when deciding where to work.

Twenty-three percent of those surveyed said it is important to offer internal networking and mentorship opportunities to attract and retain women to the industry, 17% pointed to generous maternity leave policies, and 8% said guaranteeing and enforcing equal pay for equal work.

“Although much work has been done in the financial services industry to level the playing field, there remains a gap in ensuring women are given the opportunities and tools they need to succeed,” says Monica Guiseffi, principal of financial adviser inclusion and diversity at Edward Jones.

Asked about the challenges for the financial services industry in 2018, survey respondents said new or impending regulations are the biggest challenge, although only 8% said they believe this is a concern of their clients. Rather, 50% said they believe their clients are most concerned about outliving their retirement savings, and 31% said they are worried about long-term care expenses.

The Edward Jones survey was conducted among 103 women advisers at the conference, held at the firm’s St. Louis headquarters in late February. Out of the firm’s 3,100 women advisers, only the top 250 qualified to attend the conference.

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