Practice management and back-office support platform GoalPath Solutions has integrated its defined outcome investment solution with financial wellness fintech firm Questis to provide financial planning, wellness, coaching, and investing tools to employers.
There is no cost for the first nine months after signing on.
The solution, which will be made available to any and all retirement plans through their current plan advisors, has been redesigned to speed delivery to employers and their employees following the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to GoalPath President Marko Ungashick.
“Traditionally, it might take between six to nine months to fully implement GoalPath based on all of the different components of the program,” Ungashick said in a statement. “By eliminating barriers like fee negotiation and complete investment integration, we can get the financial education and resources into the hands of the people who need it – now.”
Ungashick and Questis CEO Steve Wilbourne were inspired to redesign the program after seeing local clients, like Weston, Missouri-based Holladay Distillery, rework its manufacturing and production lines to produce goods and services for people impacted by the pandemic.
Quickly adapting
“Holladay Distillery is a great example of companies adapting quickly to the times,” Ungashick added. “They are producing hand sanitizer now called ‘Helping Hands.’ They saw a need and how they could help and just made it happen. We want to do the same.”
According to Wilbourne, Questis and GoalPath saw how their two firms could combine their solutions to help investors and followed suit.
“It made a lot of sense for us to partner with GoalPath to bring this solution to those who most need it,” he said. “Our financial wellness technology platform is the perfect delivery mechanism for the full suite of tools available through GoalPath.”
In addition to financial wellness and in-person and virtual financial coaches, GoalPath has the ability to integrate a multiple glidepath target date fund solution that utilizes custom participant data to target a monthly income in retirement and can serve as a retirement plan’s qualified default investment alternative (QDIA).
“One of the primary concerns among workers has always been their inability to retire on time and in the manner they want,” said Vern Cushenbery, Chief Investment Officer. “That concern is even more acute today, obviously, and more and more employees are turning to their employers for financial guidance right now. It only makes sense for us to try to help.”
While an integral component of the full GoalPath solution, Cushenbery says the investments can be integrated later after implementation if it makes sense for the plan and the employer.
“Our goal with this program is to make it available as quickly as possible to employees,” he concluded. “And if that means integrating investments later in favor of providing other tools like coaching and financial wellness, we’ll do it. We want to help the people that need it.”
With more than 20 years serving financial markets, John Sullivan is the former editor-in-chief of Investment Advisor magazine and retirement editor of ThinkAdvisor.com. Sullivan is also the former editor of Boomer Market Advisor and Bank Advisor magazines, and has a background in the insurance and investment industries in addition to his journalism roots.
