Products April 19, 2021

John Hancock Launching Online Personalized Recommendations Experience for Participants

The firm is also extending its personalized retirement advice program to all plan clients.

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John Hancock Retirement has announced it is expanding its personalized retirement advice program to include all defined contribution (DC) plans.

The retirement advice program is fully integrated into John Hancock’s online experience for all eligible participants, connecting a participant’s accounts with the program to deliver personalized advice. Understanding more investors are interested in receiving advice for their retirement plan, John Hancock is extending this benefit to all 401(k) participants and making it available to more than 45,000 plans.

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“In the most recent John Hancock Financial Stress survey, 87% of workers say that having their retirement savings professionally managed would have a significant impact on how prepared they feel for retirement,” says Lynda Abend, chief data officer, John Hancock Retirement. “As 2020 was one of the most challenging years most people will experience, the expanded and enhanced retirement advice program is not only timely but a great solution for participants who want help in making the most of their retirement savings and the peace of mind that comes with partnering with a professional.”

The retirement advice program is designed to help individuals looking for ongoing professional management of their retirement savings account and helps investors get and stay on track for a more secure retirement. Using Morningstar Investment Management LLC’s independent analysis, the program creates a customized mix of investments from the retirement plan’s fund lineup. This mix is personalized based on unique factors such as age, current savings, estimated Social Security benefits and out-of-plan assets, including those of a spouse or domestic partner, if added.

In addition to making its retirement advice program available to all 401(k) plans it serves, John Hancock is launching an online experience to deliver personalized recommendations to all eligible participants. Integrated into the plan website, it delivers personalized income projections and recommendations to help participants see where their savings stand today—and where they could be in the future—with professional management. Participants can also view recommended risk levels and asset allocations prior to signing up for the program.

Deals & People April 19, 2021

Fiduciary Benchmarks Rebrands as Fiduciary Decisions

The firm also announced management changes.

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Fiduciary Benchmarks (FBi) has announced that it is rebranding itself as Fiduciary Decisions (FDI) in recognition of the expansion and broadening of its mission and service offering.

Tom Kmak, CEO of Fiduciary Decisions, says the firm offers services beyond benchmarking, including its:

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  • Business Management Dashboard – a next generation practice management solution that enables retirement plan advisers to better service and sell plans;
  • IRA Best Interest Determination – a service designed to help with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)’s best interest rule and the recently released Department of Labor (DOL) prohibited transaction exemption (PTE) on advice; and
  • Retirement Outcomes Evaluator – an interactive plan design service that allows clients to make changes to a plan and see the marginal benefits and costs of those changes in seconds.

In addition, the FDI organization is being realigned to better serve both existing and new clients through a re-engineered focus on product development, marketing and sales, client success and research. As such, the following management changes were announced:

  • Matt Golda is now chief operating officer focusing on operations, client success and technology;
  • Craig Rosenthal is now head of strategy and chief marketing officer focusing on partnerships, product development and marketing;
  • Mike Narkoff is now chief revenue officer focusing on enterprise sales across all services and channels;
  • Kathleen Connelly is now chief research officer focusing on leveraging FDI’s database to benefit advisers and their clients;
  • Ivana Polonijo is now chief client officer focusing on ensuring that clients use FDI services in the most efficient manner to produce successful outcomes for themselves and their clients; and
  • Brad Williams is now chief technology officer focusing on the buildout and ongoing maintenance of all of FDI’s technology infrastructure.
“Our patented method helps fiduciaries understand not only what they are paying, but more importantly, what they are receiving from their service providers in terms of quality, service, value and extra credit,” Kmak says.

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