Never miss a story — sign up for PLANADVISER newsletters to keep up on the latest retirement plan adviser news.
Products January 22, 2014
Vanguard Partners with HelloWallet on Financial Wellness
Investment management firm Vanguard will be partnering with HelloWallet, a financial wellness service, to help employees save more for retirement.
Reported by Kevin McGuinness
HelloWallet, headquartered in Washington, D.C., provides personalized and unbiased guidance to individuals on managing debt, spending wisely and maximizing company benefits. Vanguard, which is based in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, expects that the service will help workers become more engaged in managing their finances.
“While we will continue to provide educational content and calculators to participants as important sources of guidance, HelloWallet is based on a deep understanding of an individual’s needs, preferences, and behaviors, which results in more personal guidance,” says Amy Cribbs, head of participant experience for Vanguard. “We believe that HelloWallet has a sound approach that can make it easy for employees to manage their personal finances by nudging them into making appropriate decisions.”
HelloWallet combines principals of behavioral economics and the psychology of decisionmaking with technology to examine individuals’ debt, spending and savings behaviors. The data can then be used to provide guidance on making appropriate decisions around those areas, according to Cribbs.
Through HelloWallet’s website and mobile app, employees can enter their savings goals and priorities, as well as their financial information. HelloWallet can then create budgets and analyze trends in financial behavior, leading to recommendations on how to make the most of financial opportunities such as 401(k) plans, health savings accounts, flexible spending accounts or insurance.
“This partnership will allow us to provide more Americans with the guidance necessary to increase their monthly savings, pay off debt faster, and improve their use of health and retirement benefits. Employers win, too, as they need innovative solutions to help their work force manage the increasingly complex and self-directed benefits offered in the workplace,” says Matt Fellowes, HelloWallet founder and CEO.
More information on Vanguard can be found here. More information about HelloWallet can be found here.