Income Lab, PreciseFP integration to ease retirement planning process
Income Lab and client engagement and data gathering platform PreciseFP have announced a new API integration to streamline the retirement planning process for financial advisors.
Built utilizing PreciseFP’s developer APIs, the Income Lab integration with PreciseFP allows advisors to create a retirement income plan using household data from PreciseFP on clients’ income sources, expenses, assets, liabilities, insurance, and more.
“Income Lab and PreciseFP are both critical advisor tech tools,” said Richard Thoeny, executive vice president of Product Strategy for PreciseFP. “Working together makes the challenging work of sound retirement planning one step easier and I greatly support that.”
“We are thrilled to integrate with PreciseFP and create a streamlined process for advisors to offer retirement income planning. The integration allows advisors to build detailed plans quickly and efficiently, with minimal manual input, by connecting Income Lab to important client data,” said Johnny Poulsen, co-founder and CEO of Income Lab.
MetLife, Fidelity partner on lifetime income solutions
MetLife announced its latest collaboration with Fidelity Investments to offer a fixed immediate income annuity through Fidelity’s new retirement income solution, Guaranteed Income Direct.
The availability of MetLife’s Guaranteed Income Program through Fidelity’s Guaranteed Income Direct solution is designed to help expand access to immediate income annuities by allowing plan sponsors to offer retirement income options within their defined contribution (DC) plans. This solution enables participants at all savings levels to purchase an immediate income annuity through an insurer selected by their employer and annuitize any portion of their savings. All funds not used to purchase the annuity remain in the plan.
“At MetLife, we believe simplicity should be the guiding principle when offering income annuities, and this solution makes it simple for plan sponsors to offer guaranteed income and simple for plan participants to annuitize their savings,” says Melissa Moore, senior vice president and head of Annuities at MetLife.
Tupelo Wealth Partners joins Commonwealth
Commonwealth Financial Network is adding Harleysville, Pennsylvania-based Tupelo Wealth Partners to its network of independent financial advisors.
Formerly with Lincoln Investment, Les Benzak, John Gallagher, and Lynn Craig, bring with them nearly $384 million in client assets.
Tupelo Wealth Partners delivers full-service wealth management consulting on financial planning, family legacy and generational planning, higher education planning, and retirement planning for their clients and their loved ones.
Benzak cited Commonwealth’s Brand Studio offering as a driver in the decision to join Commonwealth. “When it came to finding our unique voice, creating a cohesive brand, and developing a new website, we weren’t sure where to begin,” Benzak explained. “Working with Commonwealth’s Brand Studio strategists and creatives proved an invaluable resource for us and played a critical role during our transition.”
“Tupelo Wealth Partner’s values are deeply aligned with those of Commonwealth, and we are elated to welcome them to our community of advisors,” said Becca Hajjar, managing principal and chief business development officer. “We are confident our tools and support will help the Tupelo team operate their business quickly and seamlessly, allowing them more time to serve their clients’ complex financial planning needs and setting them up for success as they evolve their business.”
PCIA launches scholarship for women in financial services
Prime Capital Investment Advisors (PCIA) announced it is establishing The Future of Finance Scholarship Fund, a scholarship for current students or college-bound women looking to pursue degrees and careers in finance.
“At PCIA we strongly believe that the representation of women across our industry is insufficient,” stated Glenn Spencer, chief executive officer of PCIA. “I am immensely proud to introduce The Future of Finance Scholarship Fund, which will provide critical assistance and inspiration to talented young women seeking careers in finance.”
The scholarship fund was conceived by Spencer and by Terra McBride, chief marketing officer at PCIA.
“Having worked in this industry for over a decade, I can see that we have an opportunity to evolve and better reflect the communities we serve. I am personally invested in supporting women pursuing careers in finance,” said McBride. “The launch of this scholarship fund is a tangible way for us to empower young women, address the gender gap in financial services head-on, and build a stronger, more diverse industry.”
Spencer and McBride say they were compelled to create the scholarship after recognizing the lack of gender diversity among financial advisors. “We need to ignite change, not just fill quotas. Glenn and I agree that top talent and diversity are not mutually exclusive – we can recruit excellent advisors from diverse backgrounds when we have a more diverse talent pool,” she said.
The Future of Finance Scholarship Fund presents financial services as an attractive career path for young women and begins by encouraging women to enter the industry. The board says its vision is to expand the fund to include an emphasis on both women and people of color.
Applications for The Future of Finance Scholarship Fund are open through May 31, 2024. The fund is sponsored by Prime Capital Investment Advisors, Spencer Fane, and Bow River Capital.
The Standard adds sales leader for retirement plans
The Standard recently hired Albert Maixner as national accounts sales director for Retirement Plans.
Maixner has more than 15 years of experience in the retirement plan and financial services industry. Prior to joining The Standard, he worked in retirement plan sales roles at Principal Financial Group and Prime Pensions.
“Maixner is a talented sales leader who built deep relationships within our industry by helping firms and advisors solve problems,” said Patrick Bushlack, director of business development in Retirement Plans at The Standard. “We’re excited to add Albert’s skills to our growing sales team to support our national partnerships.”
Maixner earned a bachelor’s degree in human environmental sciences with a personal financial planning concentration from the University of Missouri. He also holds licenses for FINRA Series 7 and NASAA 66 as well as Accredited Investment Fiduciaryand Chartered Retirement Plan Specialist designations.
SEE MORE:
- Vanguard CEO Buckley Retiring By End of Year
- Robinhood Extends Retirement Services to GrubHub, Taskrabbit Gig Workers
- Finke, Toland, Introduce Retirement Withdrawal Alternative to 4% Rule
Amanda Umpierrez is the Managing Editor of 401(k) Specialist magazine. She is a financial services reporter with over six years of experience and a passion for telling stories and reporting news. Amanda received her degree in journalism and government and politics at St. John’s University. She is originally from Queens, New York, but now resides in Denver, Colorado with her partner. In her free time, Amanda enjoys running, cooking, and watching the latest drama show.
