Deals & People December 12, 2023

Alera Acquires Plan Advisory Fraser Group

Adviser George Fraser joins Alera as the firm continues its push into retirement plan advisement.

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The Alera Group is continuing to build out its retirement plan advisement business with the acquisition of veteran adviser George Fraser’s company, the Fraser Group, the firm announced Tuesday.

Fraser and his team will join Alera’s Scottsdale, Arizona-based retirement plan services division, Benefit Commerce Group, which offers services across employee benefits, commercial property and casualty insurance and retirement plan services. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

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George Fraser

The Fraser Group had previously been with the Retirement Benefits Group, whose founding team members were acquired by the SageView Advisory Group in June. Fraser is known for his “pennies on the dollar” model of advisement, which was part of research by behavioral economist Shlomo Benartzi and researchers at UCLA, Carnegie Mellon and Cornell, showing that plan participants “save about 20% more when presented with deferral rates in terms of pennies rather than percentages,” according to the announcement.

“George Fraser is one of the leading lights in the retirement plan industry, and we’re thrilled to welcome him and his team to Alera Group Retirement Plan Services,” Christian Mango, Alera’s executive vice president and national practice leader of retirement plan services, said in a statement.

The Benefit Commerce Group will be incorporating Fraser’s method into its practice, with the retirement division now including both BCG 401(k) Advisors and Fraser Group, according to the announcement.

“My team and I have built our practice by focusing on trying to do the right thing to change the dynamic for retirement plan participants,” Fraser said in a statement. “That includes cutting the jargon and talking in ways people connect with. It also means helping plan sponsors craft exemplary plans they can be confident about.”

Fraser noted that the firm looked for “various scenarios” to grow its reach and decided on Alera Group.

“There aren’t many places where an advisor can walk into a firm of any size—from a small business to a global enterprise—and offer best-in-class solutions,” he said in the statement. “Most importantly, we share a dedication to doing the right thing to help people.”

Alera has made several moves in 2023 to expand its retirement strategy across plan sizes, as well as in participant services. In September, the firm brought on large plan retirement plan consultant Bryan Hissong from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., as well as a financial wellness head, Matt Rafeld, who joined from Edelman Financial Engines.

Mango also came from financial wellness, having joined Alera in 2022 from a role as president of Financial Fitness for Life.

Data & Research December 12, 2023

Saver Receptivity to Financial Advice Reaches 10-Year High

Hearts & Wallets research also finds more Americans are looking to do both investing and banking with one provider.

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Americans are more accepting of their responsibility to save for retirement and receptivity to financial advice is at a record high, according to new Hearts & Wallets research summarized in “Attitudes & Sentiment 2023: Driving Corporate Strategy in Response to Changing Consumer Needs.”

According to the study, the prevailing consensus nationwide is that employers are not “responsible for providing for my retirement.” Agreement with the statement “my employer is responsible for providing for my retirement” has risen only five percentage points since 2011, to 18% in 2023 from 13% in 2011 One-quarter of households reported feeling comfortable leaving funds in plans sponsored by former employers.

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The demand for financial advice, meanwhile, has reached its high-water mark since 2013, particularly among millionaire households, Hearts & Wallets found. Among all respondents, 32% saw value in paying for financial advice, well above the 18% reported in 2013, when research on this surveying began.

How that advice will be delivered is still up for debate, according to the report. Consumer opinions remain divided on whether automated or human advisers provide superior advice.

“Despite progress in perceptions about advisers, the financial advice profession faces headwinds in articulating value proposition and justifying price,” the report noted. “Consumers are undecided how recommendations from robo-advisers and online tools compare to those of human portfolio managers and advisers.”

1 Firm, Please

Savers are also trying to look to only one source for financial needs.

The desire to both bank and invest with the same firm has seen significant growth, especially among households with less than $100,000 in investable assets. This attitude has experienced substantial year-over-year increases, with 35% of households nationally expressing a preference for integrated banking and investing, up from 23% in 2010, with research on this point dating back to that time.

The report suggested that companies should enhance both banking and investing capabilities and strengthen the connection between the two. Firms with genuine banking capabilities may have an advantage over those relying on third-party private labels, according to the researchers.

Manager Matters

Investors are also becoming savvier about who is managing their money.

Interest in the asset managers behind funds has grown, with 36% of households now agreeing it “is important to me which investment companies manage my mutual funds regardless of whether I or a financial professional has chosen the funds.” Those who agreed with the statement has grown steadily to 36% in 2023 from 26% in 2011.

The report recommended that investment firms strengthen partnerships between asset managers and distributors, as consumers express a desire to be informed about the asset manager behind their funds in both intermediary-sold and direct channels.

The findings in the “Attitudes & Sentiment 2023” report were derived from the Hearts & Wallets Investor Quantitative Database, analyzing consumer attitudes, sentiment, concerns and goals related to saving and investing. The survey, conducted from September 11 through October 6, involved 5,846 participants.

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