Products June 7, 2018

Securian Launches Open MEP

Securian Financial provides recordkeeping services and an investment platform for the solution designed for small and mid-sized employers, along with easy access to account tools and resources through a secure website, and it has teamed up with two other industry professionals to provide fiduciary services.

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Securian Financial introduced MEPconnect, its open multiple employer plan (MEP) designed to expand access to employer-sponsored retirement plans in the small to mid-sized business market.

The company explains that an open MEP is a type of retirement vehicle maintained as a single plan while allowing multiple, unrelated employers to participate, achieving economies of scale typically only attained by larger plans.

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Securian Financial provides recordkeeping services and an investment platform for MEPconnect, along with easy access to account tools and resources through a secure website. The company also teamed up with two other industry professionals to complete the retirement plan for employers:

  • The Platinum 401(k) assumes the role of the ERISA 3(16) Plan Administrator and principal fiduciary for administrative functions of the plan; and
  • Fidelis Fiduciary Management serves as the ERISA 3(38) Investment Manager, taking full fiduciary responsibility and discretion regarding the selection and monitoring of investments offered under the plan.
“As much as they’d like to offer it as a benefit to their employees, many small business owners know that sponsoring a retirement plan can take specialized knowledge and add time-consuming administrative and fiduciary obligations to their already busy workload,” says Rick Ayers, Securian Financial’s vice president of retirement solutions. “MEPconnect incorporates the key features of an effective plan while transferring the bulk of the work and risk to third-party retirement professionals—making it easy for employers to stay focused on running their businesses.”
Data & Research June 7, 2018

Americans Turning to Humans More So Than Technology for Financial Advice

When it comes to making financial decisions, 81% of Americans are most likely to turn to a financial adviser over their closest confidants, including wealthiest friends (70%), older generations (69%) and even finance apps (50%), Merrill Edge found.

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While 34% of Americans describe the stock market as “volatile,” that concern doesn’t deter most from investing, according to the latest Merrill Edge Report, a survey of more than 1,000 mass affluent Americans.

Most Americans (57%) say they made money in the stock market in the past year. Seniors (68%) and Generation Xers (67%) cite the most financial gains, with Generation Z (ages 18 through 22) at 54%.

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Investors are prioritizing social investments and community welfare when choosing where to put their money. Americans say they are more likely to invest in companies that:

  • Pay women and men equally (87%);
  • Promote diverse senior leadership (85%);
  • Demonstrate a commitment to environmental sustainability (82%);
  • Provide three or more months of family leave (78%);
  • Support the LGBTQ community (61%); and
  • Share their religious beliefs (62%).

However, the survey found Americans still value financial gains over social values, as they are most apt to invest in stock based on market performance (88%), closely followed by the stock’s ability to pay dividends (85%). In addition, 60% of respondents say they would be more likely to invest in a profitable company whose values they disagree with than a struggling company whose values they agree with (40%), as well as the most profitable company regardless of its sector (57%) over a company with a focus on environmental assets (43%).

Looking to others for financial advice

One in three Americans say their financial stability is dependent on receiving an inheritance. This is true for 20% of Baby Boomers, 36% of Gen Xers, 32% of Millennials, and 63% of Gen Z. In addition, respondents are becoming more likely to rely on input from others than their own instincts when making major life decisions, such as investing money (36%) and retiring (22%).

One in five respondents are more apt to rely on digital than in-person advice, and 69% of Americans believe all financial decisions will be made with the help of technology in their lifetime. Forty percent of respondents are already comfortable consulting artificial intelligence (AI) for financial guidance; many would trust AI to provide spending and saving guidance (45%) and make investments (32%).

However, survey results show in-person advice is still king. When it comes to making financial decisions, 81% of Americans are most likely to turn to a financial adviser over their closest confidants, including wealthiest friends (70%), older generations (69%) and even finance apps (50%).

“While we’re seeing rapid adoption of emerging technologies, investors truly want the best of both worlds—digital and physical—when it comes to decisionmaking, not one or the other,” says Aron Levine, head of Merrill Edge.

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