New service introduced as Voya data finds 76% of working Americans want access to a financial professional for savings and investment advice
Voya Financial, Inc., announced the launch of its new advisor managed accounts advisory program in collaboration with Morningstar Investment Management LLC. As one of the latest services within Voya’s suite of innovative resources that support the financial wellness needs of all Americans, the new advisor managed accounts program provides Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs) with the proper resources needed to distribute investment advice to retirement plan participants through a consistent and scalable user experience.
According to Voya research, when thinking about their retirement, working individuals seek greater support and access to advice around saving and investment decisions. The results of a new Voya survey show that more than three-quarters (76%) of working Americans currently enrolled in a workplace retirement plan agree or strongly agree that they want access to a professional whom they can call with questions and to make investment and savings decisions for them.
“In today’s world, financial professionals are becoming increasingly important, particularly as some individuals will need to rebuild their savings due to the financial impacts of COVID-19,” said Jeff Cimini, senior vice president, Retirement Product, Voya Financial. “At Voya, we are continuously focused on investing in both the resources and technology that can help play a role in advancing a better financial future for all individuals — many of whom are increasingly looking to their employer for guidance and resources. As we continue to think holistically about how the financial wellness needs of individuals will evolve and — importantly — how we can address them, innovations such as managed accounts are an important consideration for employers. By improving savings, investment and retirement ‘spend down’ decisions, managed accounts can ultimately help to have a positive impact on one’s future financial outlook.”
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New research from Morningstar Investment Management suggests managed accounts are likely to gain even more popularity among workplace retirement plans in today’s environment as more individuals continue remote-working arrangements. According to the research, remote workers invest differently from office-based workers in 401(k) plans in that they are less likely to be interested in using default investments (such as target-date funds) and are more likely to be interested in a personalized advice option (such as managed accounts).2 The same study also notes that participants who use managed accounts tend to save more for retirement — both when the service is offered as an opt-in and opt-out method.3
Morningstar Investment Management provides the technology for the advisor managed accounts platform and serves as the fiduciary for portfolio assignment and recommendations on such things as savings rates and retirement age. With Voya serving as the recordkeeper, the advisor-managed accounts program offers an integrated service model, providing participants with a single sign-on to Morningstar Investment Management’s user interface and support services through Voya’s core capabilities. These include financial professional phone support through Voya’s service center, maintaining the connection with Morningstar Investment Management to transfer plan participant data and transactions, and implementation of participant portfolio assignments. Through the program, employers can also provide their retirement plan participants with personalized advice based on model portfolios aligned with an RIA firm’s investment expertise, allowing for more-informed investing decisions to help achieve their desired outcomes.
The program can also help RIA firms when it comes to generating new business opportunities by allowing financial professionals to offer personalized advice in a scalable manner. Voya has already launched the advisor managed accounts program with advisory firms CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC, and Resources Investment Advisors – A OneDigital Company. As the program advances, Voya expects to work with additional industry-leading advisory firms to offer the service to more clients.
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“The main reason we created advisor managed accounts is to give more working Americans access to personalized advice that positions them to achieve the retirement they are working so hard for,” said Brock Johnson, president, Global Retirement & Workplace Solutions, Morningstar Investment Management LLC. “To accomplish this objective, we need to make it as easy as possible for advisors to offer and advocate for managed accounts, so we are thrilled that Voya has agreed to support our platform with so many advisory firms.”
The new advisor managed accounts service builds on the launch of Voya’s recent innovative offerings, including the firm’s: Emergency Savings fund solutions; budget calculator; Voya Learn digital educational platform; financial wellness platform; and myOrangeMoney® experience, which is helping millions of Americans change the way they manage and engage with their retirement plan.
As an industry leader focused on the delivery of health, wealth and investment solutions to and through the workplace, Voya Financial is committed to delivering on its mission to make a secure financial future possible for all Americans — one person, one family, one institution at a time.
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