Products April 7, 2022

Pontera and Mutual Group Launch New Partnership

The new relationship provides affiliated advisers with a simplified way to manage their clients’ retirement accounts and held away accounts from a single, secure interface.

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Financial technology company Pontera, formerly known as FeeX, has announced that it has formed a partnership with Mutual Group that enables financial advisers to manage and trade their clients’ retirement accounts securely and compliantly.

Held away accounts, including 401(k)s, 403(b)s and more, have historically been difficult for advisers to manage due to a variety of compliance, custody and operational challenges. Through the partnership with Pontera, advisers affiliated with Mutual Group can now provide their clients with truly holistic wealth management by trading, managing and reporting on their clients’ held away accounts as part of their overall portfolio.

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“Mutual Group has always embraced new technology to help investors benefit even more from the support of their advisers, and we are proud to be able to work together to expand their personalized service to include client retirement accounts,” says Dave Goldman, Pontera’s chief business officer. “It’s never been more important for financial advisers to help their clients get the most from their retirement assets. Today, fewer than 16% of private workers have access to a pension, which means that individuals are responsible for meeting their financial needs in retirement.”

As a SOC 2 certified platform, Pontera allows advisers to manage their clients’ retirement and held away accounts from a single, secure interface. This not only simplifies the adviser and client experience but can also potentially help advisers add value. Studies show that professional management of retirement accounts can amplify returns by 3% or more each year, net of fees.

“Mutual Group provides advisers with peace of mind and certainty to meet operational and technological obstacles, which have historically included managing retirement accounts. This partnership with Pontera will help our advisers meet this challenge to provide their clients with the best level of service,” says Aaron Jasper, Mutual Group CEO. “Held away accounts, including 401(k)s, make up a significant portion of Americans’ retirement savings and are critical to incorporate into a comprehensive wealth management plan.”

Products April 7, 2022

AIG Wellness Check Links Retirement to Personal Financial Goals

The interactive financial assessment can help individuals develop a personal plan for their financial goals, retirement among them. 

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AIG Retirement Services has launched an interactive assessment tool, FutureFIT Wellness Check, to help retirement plan participants.

The addition to AIG’s FutureFIT participant digital platform aims to guide and support individuals to develop personalized plans that will allow them to achieve their financial goals. The online checkup—available to all eligible employees, not only active retirement plan participants—offers direct access to financial wellness tools for budgets, emergency savings, debt management, student loans, and retirement planning.   

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Gilliane Isabelle, chief distribution officer, AIG Retirement Services, states that plan sponsors can include the wellness check to help motivate and educate plan participants.

“AIG Retirement Services is committed to making retirement planning easier and accessible for all, and FutureFIT Wellness Check is the latest example of our work to leverage user experience best practices to educate and motivate,” she says.

At the start of the assessment, users answer a few questions about their spending, debt, retirement plan contributions and savings goals. The wellness check will use the responses to create a personalized education program and a plan to act, with resources to help participants reach their goals.

The customized action plans include brief education sessions intended to prompt workers to act and help motivate employees to get more involved with their financial planning. Users can also connect to AIG Retirement Services offerings when using the tool.

“We are always looking for ways to help people feel more confident about their future,” says Isabelle. “It’s Financial Literacy Month, and we are taking advantage of the moment to work with public sector and nonprofit employers across the country to help their employees, no matter where they are in their career or their financial journey.”

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