Franklin Templeton is upping its financial wellness game with a new digital platform designed for financial professionals to share with 401k plan sponsors and participants.
The company announced March 8 it has partnered with San Diego-based financial education company iGrad to develop “MyFi Guide.” Powered by iGrad’s Enrich financial wellness solution, MyFi Guide features the Your Money Personality financial behavior assessment, which analyzes each user’s financial “personality.” The solution was recently recognized by the Institute for Financial Literacy with the 2020 Excellence in Financial Literacy Education (EIFLE) Adults’ Education Program of the Year award.
“We can improve the likelihood of American workers reaching their retirement goals through increased personalization,” said Yaqub Ahmed, head of Franklin Templeton’s U.S. Retirement and Insurance. “We know that successful retirement planning is not an isolated exercise. It is connected to overall financial well-being and developing good financial habits. Through MyFi Guide we will help financial professionals take personalization at scale beyond investments to the financial goal level.”
The MyFi Guide financial wellness platform offers:
- Financial education courses with personalized action plans on topics including budgeting, mortgages, healthcare, college savings, student loan repayment, banking, credit, financial planning and more
- Retirement and home affordability analyzers
- A suite of student loan and higher education tools
- Personal finance calculators and a real-time budget tool
The Enrich financial wellness solution uses artificial intelligence to provide employees the most relevant content based on their financial situation and stage of life. Meeting employees where they are in their financial journey increases relevancy of content and engagement around financial topics. This is a critical factor when trying to reach an underserved population that typically lacks access to individualized financial guidance.
Franklin Templeton’s 2020 U.S. Retirement Income Strategies and Expectations (RISE) survey revealed that employees have a wide range of financial priorities, with 30% indicating saving for retirement is their top priority, while 40% prioritize paying off debt and 45% consider saving for unforeseen emergencies most important.
Lowering financial stress levels
Employers and financial professionals can play important roles in reducing the financial stress of their employees and clients. Nearly 85% of Americans say they are stressed about personal finances, according to an October 2020 survey by the National Endowment for Financial Education.
“Financial stress is proven to negatively impact both physical and mental well-being, lower workplace productivity and increase healthcare costs,” said iGrad founder and President Rob LaBreche. “We are thrilled to be partnering with Franklin Templeton on this important financial wellness initiative.”
Enrich is used by more than 20,000 employers and more than 300 financial institutions nationwide to provide behavior-changing financial literacy education, tools and resources to employees, customers and members.
The workplace is the financial hub for many American workers, and MyFi Guide is an important part of Franklin Templeton’s overall workplace digital strategy. Harshendu Bindal, Managing Director, Digital Strategy and Wealth Management, put the new offering into a broader context.
“Our goal is to help financial professionals and employers deliver better outcomes to employees in the workplace through an ecosystem of digital solutions that address a range of financial challenges and goals,” Bindal said. “We aim to achieve this through strong partnerships with companies like iGrad who have a differentiated expertise in their area of focus.”
Veteran financial services industry journalist Brian Anderson joined 401(k) Specialist as Managing Editor in January 2019. He has led editorial content for a variety of well-known properties including Insurance Forums, Life Insurance Selling, National Underwriter Life & Health, and Senior Market Advisor. He has always maintained a focus on providing readers with timely, useful information intended to help them build their business.
