Podcast Series – OneAmerica Provider Profile
Fred Barstein, Founder and CEO of 401kTV and The Retirement Advisor University discusses with Sandy McCarthy, President of OneAmerica’s Retirement Services Group, OneAmerica’s position in the Retirement Industry as well as what makes OneAmerica unique and different.
Ms. McCarthy shares how OneAmerica makes a difference by being focused on client relationships. Among OneAmerica relationships, the solutions are not “one-size-fits-all” type relationships. OneAmerica relationships reflect more of a collaborative effort between OneAmerica and the clients’ needs. Meeting client-needs is a major focus for all OneAmerica relationships.
Tune in to this OneAmerica Provider Profile.
Full Transcript Here
INTRO: “The following Q&A is an edited segment of a taped interview with Sandy McCarthy, president of retirement services, OneAmerica.”
Fred Barstein: “This is Fred Barstein with 401KTV, and I’m here with Sandy McCarthy, president of OneAmerica retirement services group. Welcome, Sandy!
Sandy McCarthy: “Thank you, Fred.”
FB: “Sandy is a 30-year retirement services veteran, working with companies like Fidelity, Citistreet, ING (now Voya), and Mercer, where she led their Asia Pacific division. OneAmerica is a leading defined contribution and defined benefits recordkeeper with over 1 million participants, so I’m looking forward to chatting about what makes OneAmerica unique and different.”
FB: ” Sandy, OneAmerica is not a household name; it’s not the largest name in the retirement industry. So when a plan sponsor or a plan adviser is considering finding a new relationship, why should they consider using OneAmerica? What is different about you?”
SM: “Great question, Fred. Top of mind for me is that relationships matter. It is who we are. And it’s certainly something that attracted me to come to OneAmerica. If you walk around the floors in our offices, you talk to individuals who are servicing the relationships, and it makes a difference.”
FB: “How does that translate for the plan sponsor or plan adviser? How does it benefit them?”
SM: “We listen to our advisers, and we provide customized solutions so it’s not one size fits all. It’s about how we meet their needs and not demanding that our solutions service their relationships. ”
FB: “You were saying earlier that … the clients have the ability to actually call you and talk to you.”
SM: “They absolutely do. I speak to advisor clients, I speak to plan sponsor employers, on a regular basis. I’m so ecstatic about what I hear back. I hear things like, ‘We are over the moon with the way your associates interact with us; I feel it’s about our solution and it’s not about a solution that suits your needs.’ I hear from advisors that they choose to do business with us because we make them feel special, and they don’t feel like they are just a number.”
FB: “So sometimes with larger providers, with lots of numbers, they can get ‘lost’ but they don’t feel that way with you?”
SM: “That is exactly right. We are large enough to invest the way we need to invest in our business, but we are small enough to be personal. We can really connect with the individual client, whether it be one of our distribution partners or a plan sponsor client, to be able to suit their needs.”
FB: “Sandy, give us an example of when an advisor or plan sponsor reached out to you.”
SM: “I had one particular instance that I think of, Fred. An advisor reached out to me directly; he felt very comfortable escalating a situation where an individual employee participant needed a distribution immediately. So I was able to work with our distribution team to get that processed to support them.”
FB: “And that advisor felt comfortable calling the president of the division?”
SM: “Absolutely — and I encourage it.”
FB: “That’s good to hear. It’s nice to talk to you and visit with you in Indianapolis. Thank you.”
