Products March 18, 2016

A White Paper Details Auto Decisions

A white paper from Paragon Alliance Group intends to aid defined contribution plan sponsors in deciding whether auto enrollment is right for their plans.

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Automatic enrollment has been hailed as an effective tool for getting more employees to save for retirement and to save more.

However, there are several factors to consider when deciding whether and how to implement automatic enrollment before making it a done deal (see “Making the Best Auto Enrollment Decisions”).

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The Paragon Alliance Group, LLC, a regional benefits consulting and third-party administration firm, has developed a new whitepaper that is designed to provide insight into the pros and cons of auto enrollment, and why it may or may not be suitable for all plan sponsors.

The white paper provides key information for plan sponsors and plan advisers about:

  • The traditional approach to 401(k) or 403(b) plans;
  • Why auto enrollment was developed as a plan design feature to overcome some problems in traditional 401(k) or 403(b) plans;
  • Auto enrollment options;
  • Why proper oversight and execution is critical to avoid costly plan corrections;
  • Business benefits if designed, implemented and managed correctly; and
  • Critical questions to consider.

The white paper may be downloaded from the Paragon website.

In Practice March 18, 2016

Advisers Are Focus of Asset Manager Innovation

Financial research firm DST kasina finds only a minority of asset managers are fully leveraging the data they collect about financial advisers and their clients.
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A new DST kasina study, “Increasing Advisor Engagement with Online Personalization,” finds asset managers are creating rich datasets about financial advisers, along with increasingly sophisticated technologies to leverage the data.

Yet, many of the platforms and websites through which advisers access and utilize asset manager services “still present a one-size-fits-all experience for new and unknown advisers.” While some firm’s get better at personalization and depth of service as the adviser relationship grows, the front-end drag is problematic because “capturing the attention of increasingly elusive advisers is one of the most significant challenges [asset managers] face.”

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“Because advisers have more product choices than ever, asset managers have to capture prospects early in the customer journey with relevant content and personalized experiences,” explains Julia Binder, head of strategic marketing research for DST kasina. “And since that journey typically begins online, the website is a critical starting point for demonstrating that the manager is anticipating and responding to each adviser’s needs, interests, and preferences.”

In the end this is likely a positive set of industry pressures from the advisers’ perspective, the research finds, because increased asset manager competition will almost certainly spell a more seamless and flexible adviser experience. For example, survey responses show that nearly all firms already have the data and the technology they need to begin personalizing online experiences for advisers, and many are taking steps to do so.

“We see a real opportunity for asset managers to recommend content, products, and next action steps on their sites, experiences that advisers readily have elsewhere on the web,” Binder adds. “A majority (52.4%) of advisers would use asset manager sites more if content and products were recommended for them.”

While 92.3% of asset manager websites already collect adviser data on website use, sales transactions and product use, just 11.5% use it to make real-time content recommendations on their websites.

More information about DST kasina research is at www.kasina.com. 

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