Voya Adds Retirement Plan Advisement Client Management Tool

Voya Financial Inc. is targeting retirement plan advisers with a new platform to onboard and manage plan sponsor clients.

The “Advisor Dashboard” is available to advisers who have an existing book of business with Voya and are using its financial professional portal, according to a spokesperson. The firm announced that the offering is focused on plan advisers in the emerging- and middle-market segments, designed to improve the client management process and speed participant sign-up.

The adviser-focused dashboard adds to recent investments to make the plan sponsor onboarding experience more seamless, according to Voya. The move is part of the firm’s strategy to “strengthen its position in the market to serve retirement plans of all sizes and across all segments,” according to the announcement.

At a retirement conference held by LeafHouse Financial last week, Voya’s head of wealth solutions sales noted a focus on discussing the firm’s pooled employer plan offering with advisers, as Voya sees growth potential in that offering, in particular from organizations starting their first plans.

Voya highlighted features of the dashboard, including:

• Retirement plan onboarding milestones; outstanding items from contracting and servicing agreements; payroll; and live plan status;
• Progress alerts for pending items, such as outstanding sponsor signatures and plan provisions; and
• A timeline view of plans to show clients and partners.

In a separate announcement, Fidelity Investments noted Tuesday new resources to support financial advisers working with individuals on wealth management needs.

The firm noted that its research shows that about one out of every six advisers has switched firms in the past five years, with many moving to independent business models. To meet that need, Fidelity created an Independence Hub with resources to help advisers start and grow independent practices.

The Independence Hub includes a registered investment adviser tool to evaluate the potential impact on the business, as well as guidance on building the right tech stack for an advisory practice.