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Financial Engines Celebrates 10 Years of Helping 401(k) Participants Save and Invest for Retirement with Managed Accounts
[October 01, 2014]

Financial Engines Celebrates 10 Years of Helping 401(k) Participants Save and Invest for Retirement with Managed Accounts


SUNNYVALE, Calif. --(Business Wire)--

Financial Engines (NASDAQ:FNGN), America's largest independent registered investment advisor1, today announced the 10-year anniversary of its managed account program. The company first introduced managed accounts in 2004 for workers who wanted to delegate the ongoing investment management of their retirement accounts to a professional. Today, more than 800,000 401(k) participants with more than $100 billion in collective assets have their defined contribution accounts professionally managed by Financial Engines. As of June 30, 2014, Financial Engines had more than double the assets under management of its nearest competitor and more than all managed account competitors combined.2

Key to Financial Engines' rapid growth has been the trust it has built with large employers and close integration of its services with many of the industry's largest 401(k) plan providers. Some of the leading companies that make Financial Engines managed accounts available to their employees include: Delta Air Lines, Northrop Grumman (News - Alert), SunTrust Banks, Inc. and Tenneco Inc. The company makes its services available with some of the industry's largest retirement plan providers, including Aon Hewitt, Great-West Financial, Mercer, T. Rowe Price, Vanguard, Voya Financial and Xerox HR Solutions.

"We are gratified that managed accounts have been widely embraced by the industry and 401(k) participants and are honored to be helping so many people achieve their retirement goals," explained Jeff Maggioncalda, CEO of Financial Engines. "Managed accounts have been successful because they fill a need for personalized investment management that other investment products like target-date funds can't provide. That's especially true for near-retirees, who often want to talk with an independent advisor and need extra help deciding when to claim Social Security or creating a retirement income plan."

Managed Accounts Deliver Value

Another reason for the steady growth of managed accounts is that professional help works. According to joint research3 from Aon Hewitt and Financial Engines that examined investing ehavior of 723,000 workers at 14 large U.S. employers, 401(k) participants who used investment help via managed accounts, target-date funds or online advice, earned higher median annual returns than those who went it alone. On average, employees who used Help (which includes managed accounts) had median annual returns that were 3.32 percent higher, net of fees, than participants who managed their own portfolios.4



Today, the typical Financial Engines managed account member is 48 years old with an average 401(k) account balance of $123,000. Due to their flexibility, managed accounts are able to build risk-appropriate, personalized portfolios to fit an individual's personal circumstances. For example, managed accounts can take into consideration the anticipated effects of company stock holdings and cash balance plan benefits to help keep investors at an appropriate risk level. Since Financial Engines' methodology and approach take an individual's circumstances into account, over three-quarters of managed account member portfolios are unique.

"Over the last 10 years, we have consistently added new services and enhanced the managed account member experience," said Maggioncalda. "What started out as primarily professional account management can now include unlimited phone access to an advisor, annual one-on-one retirement checkups, retirement income planning with Income+ and most recently, Social Security guidance at no additional charge. We will continue to expand the range of independent help we provide-especially to near-retirees, who most need our help."


About Financial Engines: (NASDAQ: FNGN)

Financial Engines is America's largest independent investment advisor.[1] We help people make the most of their retirement assets by providing professional investment management and advice.

Headquartered in Sunnyvale, CA, Financial Engines was co-founded in 1996 by Nobel (News - Alert) Prize-winning economist Bill Sharpe. Today, we offer retirement help to more than nine million employees across 580+ companies nationwide (including more than 140 of the Fortune 500). Our investment methodology, combined with powerful online services, dedicated advisor center and personal attention allow us to help more Americans get on the path to a secure retirement.

For more information, visit www.financialengines.com.

Advisory and sub-advisory services provided by Financial Engines Advisors, L.L.C., a federally registered investment advisor and wholly-owned subsidiary of Financial Engines, Inc. Financial Engines does not guarantee future results.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements regarding the use of professional investment and financial planning help, which involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. These risks and uncertainties are outlined in our SEC (News - Alert) filings. You are cautioned not to unduly rely on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. Unless required by law, Financial Engines undertakes no obligation to publicly revise any forward-looking statement to reflect circumstances or events after the date of this press release or to report the occurrence of unanticipated events.

1 For independence methodology and ranking, see InvestmentNews RIA Data Center. (http://data.investmentnews.com/ria/).

2 Cerulli Quantitative Insights, 2Q, 2014.

3 Help in Defined Contribution Plans: 2006 through 2012.

4 Copies of the full report that includes methodology and data information are available for download on www.financialengines.com and www.aonhewitt.com.


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