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Verity Asset Management, a registered investment adviser (RIA), has launched a new plan governance platform, Vynntana, for eligible retirement plan sponsors and plan participants.
Vynntana was launched for 403(b) and 457(b) employer plan sponsors, eligible plan participants (i.e., employees of K-14 public schools, colleges, churches, governmental agencies and nonprofits) and investment providers.
The platform aims to offer plan sponsors a system providing best practices and plan management to enable investment committees to make informed decisions that can benefit participants’ retirement readiness, says Al Otto, national director, plan governance solutions for Vynntana.
“The service gives plan sponsors a set of tools to control the environment, and to do things appropriately from a best practice perspective,” he says. “It will put plan sponsors in control of their messaging and can lead to much improved outcomes for teachers and administrators in retirement.”
Tax-advantaged, employer-sponsored 403(b) and 457(b) retirement savings plans are offered to government and nonprofit employees. These plans are not subject to Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) standards that govern 401(k) plans.
MetLife previously launched a digital retirement enrollment platform for the 403(b) and non-ERISA plans early last year.
Verity says it created its plan governance platform for plan sponsors’ comprehensive plan management and oversight, with a process that includes help from independent experts. The platform allows every party to engage and collaborate to better plan performance, with the service incorporating an open architecture platform providing a single point of entry to support multi-provider plans.
The governance platform uses an evaluation process to improve retirement plans for participants. The process begins with a five-step review based on behavioral governance research and strategies that inspect plan governance; plan design; operational compliance; investment management; and participant engagement.
Otto adds that plan sponsors and retirement plan advisers using Vyntana can likely benefit from a “plan management system enabling committees to make informed decisions that have a positive impact on participants.”