Recognizing the power that wealth management can add to retirement plan participant success, Empower Retirement announced Monday that it will launch a digital, consumer-focused wealth management platform.
“The platform will offer consumers integrated access to investment advice, financial planning and insurance through a single user experience designed to help optimize the investment of assets, clarify goals and enhance financial planning,” according to the company.
Empower will target underserved mass affluent investors who may not currently work with a professional advisor as they make crucial personal financial decisions.
“Many Americans have the opportunity to achieve a higher level of financial security by optimizing their personal investing and financial planning strategies,” Empower Retirement president Ed Murphy said in a statement. “We see a significant opportunity to help these investors achieve greater financial security with the help of innovative digital tools and investing expertise.”
He added that people want actionable, easy-to-use digital experiences—and the markets are demanding that every firm provide them, especially in the financial services industry.
“Technology has created a new age of disruption that’s challenging standard modes of serving customers. Empower has a legacy of providing cutting-edge tools to help participants take action on their retirement plan – and now we’re bringing that kind of innovation to wealth management.”
The new platform will provide what the Denver-based company claims is a simple and intuitive interface and an integrated managed account and service experience.
Empower will develop the platform in collaboration with Toronto-based Wealthsimple US, and Dallas-based Apex Clearing Corporation.
Murphy pointed to the interplay of technology and human advisors as crucial to modern wealth management, highlighting all three firms’ focus on digital solutions to promote financial security.
Recent survey results published by the Empower Institute show that savers who work with an advisor have a significant advantage in projected income replacement versus those who do not. Respondents using a traditional or online advisor have income replacement rates of 116 percent, on average, versus 58 percent for those with no advisor — a 100 percent improvement.
“Ours is an advisor-centric model,” Murphy concluded. “An advisor’s expertise can help investors stay focused on the long-term and keep their portfolios on a disciplined course. Empower is here to help those who may not be accessing professional advice on their own.”
Empower has approximately $570 billion in assets under administration and 8.7 million participants in 38,000 employer-sponsored retirement plans.
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.
