Products August 16, 2018

Investment Product and Service Launches

US SIF Launches Money Manager-Focused Guide, and Wells Fargo Updates Personalized Solution.   

Reported by

The US SIF Foundation has released a comprehensive guide for money managers on how to incorporate sustainable, responsible and impact investing at their firms. The Money Manager Roadmap provides best practices and practical steps asset managers can take to develop and enhance sustainable investing strategies.

Never miss a story — sign up for PLANSPONSOR newsletters to keep up on the latest retirement plan benefits news.

The guide is the second released by the US SIF Foundation this year. The roadmaps are a core deliverable from US SIF’s strategic plan goal to identify and disseminate information about best practices within the field and provide tools for practitioners to undertake a rigorous and comprehensive approach to sustainable and impact investing. A roadmap for financial advisers was released earlier this year, and asset owners will be the focus of the third and final guide in the series. 

The Roadmap was designed with input from portfolio managers at US SIF member firms and covers the following steps, from introductory to advanced, for money managers to develop sustainable investment programs and products: establish board and senior level oversight; identify sources of ESG (environmental, social, and governance) data, research and training; develop and implement an ESG incorporation strategy; develop and implement an investor engagement strategy; measure and manage impact; and participate in building the field.

“As the field expands, we consistently hear that asset managers need basic information about how to get started in creating ESG-focused products and strategies. We also believe that asset managers need to continually build out their offerings and provide transparency about their investing process,” says Lisa Woll, CEO of the US SIF Foundation. “The Money Manager Roadmap is a tool that asset managers can use whether they are just starting out or are experienced practitioners moving toward a more rigorous practice.” 

The guide is now available on US SIF’s website and will be distributed to asset managers throughout the year.

Wells Fargo Updates Personalized Solution

Wells Fargo Institutional Retirement and Trust has created the newest iteration of its Target My Retirement solution, providing 401(k) plan participants access to a personalized investment solution to help them achieve their retirement income goals.

Target My Retirement offers an internally managed, factor-based index collective fund array charging lower fees and has the potential for greater risk-adjusted returns, while also maintaining the essence of the product design to create a personalized glide path based on the participant’s individual situation.

The underlying factor-based collective funds were created by Wells Fargo Asset Management. Morningstar Investment Management LLC—a registered investment adviser (RIA) and subsidiary of Morningstar, Inc., retained by Wells Fargo as an independent financial expert to provide advice in connection with Target My Retirement—created the participant investment strategies.

“We continue to believe that the future of retirement planning—and the probability of a successful outcome—comes down to moving away from ‘one size fits all’ approaches and drawing on more personalized solutions,” says Joe Ready, head of Wells Fargo Institutional Retirement and Trust. “This version of Target My Retirement builds on this belief by combining the investment strength of Wells Fargo Asset Management with the allocation expertise of Morningstar Investment Management to deliver what we see as a compelling option for plan sponsors.”

Like previous versions of Target My Retirement, the latest iteration can be used as a plan’s qualified default investment alternative, delivering an evolution in the underlying investment strategy of the product at a cost of 24 basis points, including both the product administration and investment fund expenses.

Features of the enhanced Target My Retirement solution includes close to 600 possible portfolios; personalization; factor-based investment options; and a process focused on controlling risk and return drivers. 

Participants August 16, 2018

Participants Report Diverse Communication Preferences

Results of a participant survey conducted by CUNA Mutual show a close tie between in-person training, short topical online videos, and self-guided learning modules as the preferred way to receive education about retirement plans.

Reported by

CUNA Mutual Retirement Solutions has published the results of its 2018 Retirement Education Preferences Survey.

The survey asked participants to rank their interest in learning about different financial and retirement planning areas, such basic and advanced investment principles, budgeting and managing debt, and preparing to transition to retirement. Overall, survey respondents were most interested in “understanding the tools and resources available” to help—ranked as the top area of interest by survey participants 25% of the time.

For more stories like this, sign up for the PLANSPONSOR NEWSDash daily newsletter.

“This may indicate employees are interested in maximizing their returns and learning how their plan can help them prepare for retirement, but they are not certain they have all the information they need,” the survey report states. “Interest in basic financial wellness emerged as a secondary theme. This may indicate that participants are facing challenges that impact their ability to increase their overall and retirement savings.”

Generally, the survey shows younger plan participants want to learn about budgeting and managing debt.

“Retirement is not in the near future for this younger age group, and their interest in retirement planning topics reflects that, especially when compared with their interest in underlying financial wellness subjects,” the firm reports. “Survey respondents in this age group ranked budgeting and managing debt as the top priority 35% of the time.”

According to the survey, Millennials are carrying a significant amount of student loan debt that can limit their ability to save for retirement. Among this age bracket of respondents, understanding available tools and resources was ranked as a top area of interest followed by smart retirement savings practices and basic investment principles.

Among mid-career employees—defined here as those between ages 35 and 49 years—both “budgeting and managing debt” and “understanding tools and resources available” ranked as the top subjects of interest. “Smart retirement savings practices” came in at 21%, followed by “basic investment principles” at 13%.

As noted in the survey report, respondents over the age of 50 are much closer to retirement, and therefore more interested in getting ready for that transition.

“Preparing to transition into retirement was ranked as the top interest 31% of the time, while understanding tools and resources was ranked as the top interest 26% of the time,” the report notes. “Smart retirement savings practices were solidly ranked in the middle of this age group’s interests, followed by budgeting and managing debt and investment principles (both basic and advanced). Plan participants in the 50 and up age group are thinking about the transition to retirement because it is on the horizon, while the younger age groups are more preoccupied with budgeting and managing debt, which are building blocks leading to long term financial stability.”

Preferences for retirement focused communications

The CUNA Mutual survey also asked participants to rank their interest in retirement education delivery options.

“The responses showed diversity in learning preferences when it comes to retirement and financial topics,” the report states. “Looking at overall average survey results, there was a close tie between in-person training, short topical online videos, and self-guided learning modules as the preferred way to receive education about their retirement plans.”

Notably, all the categories received a relatively similar level of interest, according to the survey.

“Personalization is important,” the report notes. “Retirement is not one size fits all, and survey respondents know that. Respondents like the options of one-on-one discussions either in-person or on the phone. Personalized email messages were also a popular choice. Convenience is king. Plan participants want retirement planning education to be convenient. That means they are open to self-guided training modules that allow them learn as much or little as they need, and they like the idea of short videos, which can be watched online anytime.”

The full survey report is available for download here.

«