The program, which reflects the growing trend of employees seeking direct professional management of their 401(k) plan investments, will aim to enable plan participants to delegate specific investment decisions to professional managers by personalizing accounts based on age, savings information and current investments.
Participants also expect to gain access to investment advisors through a call center and further personalize their accounts by providing information on investment goals, target retirement age and outside holdings.
The services were set up as requested by Mellon’s Human Resource & Investor Solutions (HR&IS) business to add professional 401(k) portfolio management to its array of outsourcing services.
Many plan participants need professional help managing their investments and they’re looking to their employers for that assistance, said James Aramanda, Mellon vice chairman and head of its HR&IS business. Our relationship with Financial Engines allows us to add a new dimension to our total benefits outsourcing. We now offer a choice: advice for do-it-yourself investors or active account management for reluctant investors.
Financial Engines will supply Mellon with a full-service managed accounts program, including enrollment materials, a call center of investment advisor representatives and turn-key plan sponsor monitoring capabilities. The process intends to offer a significant competitive advantage by speeding up the enrollment process and deducting fees from participants’ 401(k) accounts.
Mellon also hopes that by providing personalized professional advice to align the savings and investment allocations to each participant’s retirement goals, the Personal Asset Manager will increase fiduciary protection for plan sponsors.
