Deepening its focus on the retirement business, T. Rowe Price announced Tuesday the formation of a global retirement strategy team, created with the goal of coordinating retirement initiatives, research and expertise.

Michael Davis, head of global retirement strategy at T. Rowe Price and formerly a deputy assistant secretary for the Employee Benefits Security Administration in the U.S. Department of Labor, will lead the group. Davis is also on the executive committee for the DC Institutional Investment Association and the advisory board for the Aspen Institute Forum on Retirement Savings.

Michael Davis

“We’re really excited about the development of this team,” Davis says. “We think there’s a lot of [opportunity] for excellence based on all the interactions we have had in the retirement space that we can stitch together in a way that adds value for our clients and retirement outcomes over time, not only in the U.S., but around the world.”

The new team will advise on the development of new products and services and will help amplify the firm’s voice in public policy discussions on legislative and regulatory proposals, according to a news release.

Davis says as consolidation continues to occur across the industry’s consultants and advisers, as well as between retirement plans themselves, T. Rowe Price found it made sense to provide their insights to participants, advisers and consultants, both in the U.S. and around the world, in a more coordinated way.

Approximately two-thirds of T. Rowe Price’s $1.35 trillion in assets under management are in retirement and retirement-related accounts, and the firm’s target-date franchise represents more than 25% of the firm’s assets under management, according to the announcement. T. Rowe also acquired retirement income fintech firm Retiree Inc. in April 2023 to help advance its innovation efforts in retirement income. It also hired Aliya Robinson,  formerly the executive director of retirement policy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, to its government affairs team in September 2022.

“There’s a lot of touchpoints we have, [and] there’s a lot of channels of insight and information that we get from all these interactions [in the retirement industry],” Davis says. “… If you put all that together in a package that is thoughtful, easily consumable, differentiated, timely, you can really have a very compelling conversation with your clients that meets them where they are.”

Davis sees saving for retirement as a “global challenge,” as most developed economies are aging. Despite the fact that countries are tackling the challenge differently, Davis says it is useful for the new team to meet with policymakers in major economies around the world and compare what strategies work and do not work.

David adds that T. Rowe is looking to expand its voice and engage more proactively from a legislative and regulatory standpoint. He says the team is closely monitoring the recent fiduciary rule proposal and the reaction to it, with T. Rowe recently submitting a comment letter, as well as the extension of collective investment trusts into the 403(b) marketplace.

Because T. Rowe is based in Baltimore, Davis says the team’s intent is to leverage its proximity to Washington, D.C., to ensure it “promotes retirement security” and “enhances participant outcomes.”

From a product development standpoint, Davis says the team is focused on retirement income products. He says T. Rowe has launched a managed payout product within its recordkeeping platform that is “fluid and portable,” and the firm is also looking into incorporating annuity-type products.

“Our research suggests that there’s not going to be a one-size-fits-all solution in retirement income, because the decumulation [phase] is much more complicated and complex than accumulation,” Davis says.