Financial Advisors Archives - 401k Plan Optimization, Compliance, Investment & Partners

What Plan Sponsors Really Need as the 401(k) Industry Evolves

By Fred Barstein / 401(k) Plan Management, 401k Advisor, AI, AI for Retirement, Communication, DC Plan Sponsors, DC plans, Employee engagement, erisa, Fiduciary, Financial Advisors, participant education, Retirement planning, Retirement readiness, Retirement Readiness, Secure Act Changes

The retirement industry is changing quickly, but are advisors and providers focusing on what plan sponsors actually need? From artificial intelligence and industry consolidation to...

How State Retirement Mandates Are Reshaping the 401(k) Industry

By Fred Barstein / 401(k) Managed Accounts, 401(k) Plan Management, 401k Advisor, 401k Trends, AI, AI for Retirement, DC plans, Digital Tools, Financial Advisors, Financial Wellness, Investments, Retirement Plan Advisor, Retirement plan management, State Retirement Mandates, technology

State Retirement Mandates 401(k) Industry

A small change can sometimes lead to much bigger consequences. That’s the idea behind the butterfly effect, and it’s playing out across the retirement industry....

What Plan Sponsors Can Learn From a Financial Advisor’s YouTube Success

By Fred Barstein / 401(k) advisor trust, 401(k) Participant Education, 401(k) Plan Management, 401k News, 401k plan, benefit education, Changing dynamics, Communication, Creative approach, DC Plan Sponsors, Education, Financial Advisors, financial stress management, financial wellness, participant education, participation

Who says people don’t have the attention span for long-form financial education? Kevin Lum, a certified financial planner and founder of Foundry Financial, has built...

As the Lines Blur, the DC Market Race Heats Up

By Fred Barstein / 401k plan, 401k Trends, Adaptability, AI, AI for Retirement, Changing dynamics, Consolidation, Convergence, DC Market Race, DC Plan Sponsors, DC plans, DOL Guidance, Employee Benefits, Fiduciary, Financial Advisors, financial wellness, Retirement Plan Advisor, Retirement plan management, Retirement Readiness, RPA Consolidation

The defined contribution market once had fairly clear lanes. Retirement plan advisors served one part of the market, while institutional investment consultants largely stayed in...

Recordkeepers Can’t Win on Products Alone Anymore

By Fred Barstein / 401(k) Managed Accounts, 401(k) Plan Management, 401k Advisor, Fiduciary, Financial Advisors, financial literacy, Financial Wellness, Investments, Modernize Retirement Plans, Private Wealth & Retirement Planning, Recordkeeping, Retirement Advisory, Retirement Readiness

Nearly 11,000 Americans turn 65 every day. The industry knows how to help people save. Helping them spend is a different problem. Joshua Dietch, a...

Connecting Health Benefits and 401(k) Savings

By Fred Barstein / 401(k) Plan Management, benefit education, Benefits integration, CEO Engagement, Communication, DC Plan Sponsors, Employee Benefits, Employee engagement, Financial Advisors, Financial Wellness, Financial Wellness, Health & Wellness, Health Savings Account, Healthcare & other benefits, investment, Lifestyle Benefits, Retirement Readiness

Financial wellness decisions rarely happen in isolation. Employees are often weighing health plan costs, household budgets and retirement savings at the same time — which...

Small Business Retirement Plans: Is Predictable Pricing Part of the Answer?

By Fred Barstein / 401k plan, Client connection, DC Plan Sponsors, DC plans, Employee Benefits, Employee engagement, employee retention, Fiduciary, Financial Advisors, Financial Wellness, recruiting, retirement income, Small business retirement plans

Small business owners overwhelmingly see the value of offering a retirement plan. But keeping one affordable and sustainable as the business grows can be another...

Why Retirement Advisors Are Expanding Into Wealth Management

By Fred Barstein / 401(k) Managed Accounts, 401(k) Plan Management, 401k Advisor, 401k News, benefit education, Communication, Consolidation, Convergence, DC Plan Sponsors, DC plans, Employee Benefits, Financial Advisors, Financial Wellness, Managed Accounts, Retirement Readiness

The lines between retirement plan consulting and wealth management continue to blur, creating new opportunities for advisors who can serve both employers and individual participants. ...

The Rope Just Came Down for ETFs and 401(k)s

By Fred Barstein / 401(k) Managed Accounts, 401(k) Plan Management, 401k plan, Collective Investment Trust, DC Plan Sponsors, ETFs, Fiduciary, Financial Advisors, Financial Wellness, investment, Retirement Plan Advisor, SEC ruling

For decades, ETFs and 401(k) plans circled each other like dance partners kept apart by a velvet rope — plenty of chemistry, but the recordkeeping...

Is Convergence the Future of Retirement Benefits? Empower Just Bet Big on It

By Fred Barstein / 401(k) Plan Management, benefit education, Client connection, Communication, Consolidation, Convergence, DC Plan Sponsors, Economy, Financial Advisors, financial stress management, Financial Wellness, Health & Wellness, healthcare, hiring, Investments, managed financial stress, recordkeeping, Retirement Readiness

Empower just closed a $340 million deal to acquire Milliman’s retirement and benefits administration business — adding about 750,000 DC and 780,000 DB participants across...