Inclusion Awards Retirement Solutions

Full name of company Type of organization If other, please describe City State Year firm was founded Please…

Full name of company	Type of organization	If other, please describe	City	State	Year firm was founded	Please provide a detailed description of a product, platform or service that improves clients’ likelihood of meeting their retirement goals or otherwise improves clients’ efforts to save for or live comfortably during their retirement years.	Please describe anecdotally or with metrics the impact that the retirement solution is having on savings rates, retirement readiness scores or other retirement goals for clients, or illustrate how the product or process increased retirement assets by advice firms.	Computed Score
Social Security Solutions	Fintech company		Overland Park	Kansas	2010	The SSanalyzer software created by Social Security Solutions is the most used planning software by independant advisors and large financial instutions including Vanguard, Fidelity, Financial Engines, Northern Trust, Lincoln and others to help retirees understand and maximize their Social Security. Social Security is the largest retirement source ffor retirees and is very complex (over 20,000 pages of rules). The application empowers financial advisors to give advice and guidance on this important planning topic. The SSanalyzer has been the top randed software since launch. This month (January 2019) the tool was ranked as the top software for advisors in this niche in the T3 technology survey filled out by over 5,500 independant advisors. SSanalyzer was measured as 4x larger than any of its competitors. Founders Meyer and Reichenstein have publishe more than anyone in the country about details Social Security strategies in the academic journals like the journal of financial planning and others. The firm is committed to educationing advisosr and clients like other leaders on this topic like Mary Beth Franklin. They continue to publish and evolve the software to make a frustrating and critical topic more understandable.	The SS Administration just reported that approximately 35% of Americans rely on more than 90% of their retirement income from SS. Whether a person is wealth or Middle America the impact of maximizing benefits is profound. The firm’s research and analylics shows that it can increase retirement savings by 2 to 10 years longer. The bottom line is everyone should know their options to find $10,000s more money. The SSanalyzer is used by advisor to create a claiming strategy and help identify a smart retirement income strategy. It identifies how much need to be withdrawn from saving to filling income gaps not covered by Social Security. The software calculates SS taxation and how to coordinate retirement savings. Successful advisor realize SS is critical to giving good advisor. However, advisors that build expertise in this niche find out it results in winning new clients. All clieints entering retirement will ask about SS to their advisor. Advisors that address SS topics and strategies win new clients and assets. Their clients have more money and hedge longevity risk.	5
Betterment for Business	Fintech company		New York	NY	2015	Betterment for Business’s mission is to improve how people save for retirement through smarter technology and better advice. Betterment for Business is a technology-led 401(k) provider that offers plan sponsors and plan participants the personalized advice needed to make retirement saving more simplified. No matter how low-cost the funds, typical retirement plans do not ensure solid retirement readiness: they offer little guidance, are hard to navigate and aren’t personalized to the employee’s circumstances and goals. Meanwhile, employers look to lower the costs, risks and headaches of providing a plan. Betterment for Business brings both efficient technology and personalized, unconflicted advice to 401(k)s so that employers can provide a benefit that’s truly a benefit, and employees can know that they’re invested correctly for retirement. Betterment for Business manages the administration, recordkeeping, compliance and customer service aspects of 401(k), making plans easier and more efficient for employers to implement, and more transparent and lower cost for employees. Using vertical integration, Betterment for Business gives comprehensive, on-demand advice to employees about savings rates, account types and investment selection. Employees can also use RetireGuide to get personalized advice on their retirement plan from a holistic view. RetireGuide tells employees how much they need to save to have a comfortable retirement based on whether they’re married, where they live, where they plan to retire, their income, their current savings with other providers and even their spouse’s holdings. RetireGuide looks at what employees are saving in their 401(k) to offer guidance on the other types of accounts they should open. Participants can also speak with a financial advisor. This personalized investment advice is built into every Betterment for Business participant’s experience. Betterment for Business selects the best-in-class ETFs for participants, and optimizes the allocation of portfolios recommended based on that individual participant’s investing needs.	The success of Betterment for Business’ 401(k) can be highlighted by the more than 400 plan sponsors who offer Betterment for Business’ 401(k). Furthermore, the proof of the value of this 401(k) offering is the number of employees within these companies who are now enrolled and contributing to their 401(k), as a result of features like auto-enrollment, and digital, on-demand advice. WatchGuard, a network security vendor, offers Betterment for Business’ 401(k) plan to employees,after reevaluating its 401(k) offerings. Betterment for Business was selected because it offered managed accounts that operate as a qualified diversified investment alternative (QDIA), re-enrollment of all non-participating employees and added automatic enrollment for new hires. After implementing Betterment for Business in February 2017, the following results were seen in just over 6 months (August, 2017): -More employees saving: A 51.4% increase in the number of employees saving for retirement, resulting in a 92.9% participation rate and $42,199,741 in potential retirement wealth created within the plan. -Employees saving more: An increase in median deferral rate to 10% among employees who were already contributing and $8,193,044 in potential retirement wealth created. -Better investing behavior: An increase from 40% to 91% of employees with appropriate risk levels—helping participants improve their investing behavior and generating $5,287,892 more in potential retirement wealth created. More employees started saving, the rate of savings increased and each employee had the advice they needed to help maximize their money	4.5
Morgan Stanley Wealth Management	Bank advisory unit	Wealth and Asset Management Firm	New York	NY	1935	The most advanced, comprehensive household-level retirement solution in the marketplace is Morgan Stanley’s WealthDesk. As the Advisory industry shifts its focus from individual product and investment purchases to comprehensive household-level solutions, WealthDesk is the clear leader due to its ability to coordinate all accounts, investments and products in a portfolio in a risk-smart and tax-smart way to increase the accumulation and decumulation of assets. WealthDesk optimizes and connects the following software capabilities at the household level using consistent data in sequence: • Customer Relationship Management – SalesForce • Financial Planning – built by MS • Data Aggregation – Yodlee; used to include analysis of assets at MS and elsewhere • Risk Management – BlackRock’s Aladdin • Tax-Smart Asset Location – LifeYield Advantage Suite® • Investment Proposal – built by MS • Coordinated Household-Level Investment Management and Rebalancing– a combination of many capabilities • Retirement Income Optimization (includes trade recommendations to maximize income in retirement by providing guidance on the optimal sequence of withdrawal from all accounts and products) – LifeYield Advantage Suite This process helps clients organize and coordinate all accounts and investments in their household portfolio to maintain their risk target, improve asset location, minimize taxes and improve chances of achieving their goals. As advisors take clients through this process, improved outcomes are quantified in dollars and cents, which are achieved primarily through risk management and tax optimization. What is typically not appreciated is the complexity and difficulty of connecting all the capabilities and data required to help advisors guide investors in providing a coordinated and seamless experience that results in demonstrated improvement of after-tax returns and income. This includes integrating: data from multiple sources, legacy systems and newly developed software. Coordinating this all helps investors make more informed, productive decisions that improve their chances of achieving their goals.	The two key distinguishing characteristics of Morgan Stanley’s WealthDesk are: 1) the proprietary work done with BlackRock’s Aladdin for portfolio construction, compliance and risk management; and 2) the proprietary work done with LifeYield to show clients how to improve after-tax returns by minimizing taxes across the household, quantifying the investor benefit and improving after-tax income. Independent research by Morningstar says the typical investor can enjoy 52 basis points in improvement per year through tax-smart asset location. The study also found after-tax income can be improved by 54 basis points per year. And according to an independent analysis by EY, household-level management can result in up to 33% after-tax returns and income improvement over time. As a keen observer of fintech and platform developments with intimate knowledge of the various stages of industry advances, I have seen no firm come close to Morgan Stanley’s platform for its ability to optimize multiple accounts and investments at the household-level and produce improved investor results during accumulation and while drawing income. Many firms are building household-level platforms that will follow Morgan Stanley’s lead and will be introduced over the coming year. Morgan Stanley’s WealthDesk quantifies the financial benefits of improved asset location and retirement income in dollars and cents over 10-, 15- or 20-year periods. As an example, a $1 million household with a 50% bonds/50% equity allocation, and 50% of assets located in qualified accounts and 50% located in non-qualified accounts would realize improved after-tax results as follows: • $159,000 improvement over the first 10 years; • $325,000 over 15 years; and, • $590,000 over 20 years Only recently have advances in financial technology made this kind of optimization possible, and WealthDesk is without a doubt at the head of the pack.	4.5
Horizon Investments	Asset manager		Charlotte	NC	1995	Horizon Investments is a pioneer in the emerging discipline of goals-based investing, which places the client’s life objectives at the center of the investment process. A key concern of all investors is the possibility of outliving their savings in retirement. Horizon addresses this risk through its Real Spend strategy, an innovative analytical and investment tool that helps clients meet the need for income while addressing the two major challenges that threaten retirement success: the impact of inflation on purchasing power and “longevity risk.” Rather than a traditional bond heavy portfolio, Horizon employs an equity-oriented approach with strategies built on cutting edge financial engineering and proven academic research. Real Spend consists of three main components: Spending Reserve, a three-year pool of liquid assets for spending on current and short-term goals; Investments, a portfolio designed to generate inflation-adjusted returns sufficient to replace the withdrawals from the liquid reserve; and Protection, a risk mitigation component to help preserve capital during sudden and severe market downturns. The three year Spending Reserve period was chosen because it allows investors to ride out downturns in the market (since World War II bear markets have averaged 14 months in length, stock market corrections five months), addressing potential behavioral concerns (changing portfolio allocations in the face of a down market, for example). Horizon offers advisors and their clients five different portfolios with spend components ranging from 7% with a 79% equity allocation and a 21% spending reserve to 3% with a 55% equity allocation and a 9% spending reserve. The equity components are invested in Horizon’s actively managed proprietary global strategies, primarily using low cost Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs).	Since the implementation of Real Spend, Horizon has experienced substantial growth in both its advisor relationships and its asset under advisory (AUA). For the period December 31, 2017-December 31, 2018 the firm experienced an advisor growth rate (advisors employing Horizon’s Real Spend strategies) of 144%. Firm wide AUA grew 40% during that same period, while AUA committed to the Real Spend strategy was up 125%. Horizon brought 1,200 new advisor firms onto its platform during 2018, representing a potential new advisor base of 2,900 advisors with business. This increase was driven by the increasing popularity of its goals-based strategies, including Real Spend.	4
DPL Financial Partners	Other	Membership Network, Consultant	Louisville	Kentucky	2014	DPL Financial Partners is an RIA insurance network that brings low-cost, Commission-Free insurance solutions to RIA practices. When RIA firms join DPL, advisors have unlimited access to DPL’s team of insurance consultants, member-only education, tools and content, and a robust offering of Commission-Free products from the nation’s top carriers. Historically, fee-only RIAs haven’t offered insurance solutions (including annuities) because most insurance products are laden with commissions, making them incompatible with the fee-only, fiduciary model. Couple this with the deceptive sales tactics used by some insurance salespeople and it’s no wonder many advisors steer clear of annuities and other insurance products. Unfortunately, advisors’ predisposition against annuities and lack of involvement in their clients’ insurance planning has introduced a gap in advisors’ ability to help clients meet their retirement income needs. Without the ability to offer annuities, RIAs have had to try to build income portfolios—essentially trying to replicate their clients’ income stream which is an incredibly difficult, time-consuming, and complex thing to do. The benefit of annuities is proven. It prevents clients from running out of money in retirement and protects against sequence of return risk, which can significantly impact retirement income levels. DPL is changing the insurance landscape by bringing to market low-cost, Commission-Free annuities to enhance clients’ retirement income and provide clients with peace of mind knowing that money will be there to cover expenses in retirement. To date, DPL offers variable annuities with guarantees, fixed indexed annuities, fixed annuities, SPIAs, DIAs and buffers. Designed, built and priced for the RIA market, these products enable RIA clients to enjoy the many benefits of annuities, while enabling RIAs to address the retirement income problem with a solution that more efficiently generates income and mitigates longevity and sequence of returns risk.	To date, over 180 RIA firms have joined DPL’s network, representing approximately 1,800 advisors with $100 billion in assets. In 2018, DPL worked with members to review nearly 700 annuities and life insurance policies already owned by members’ clients to determine whether better, Commission-Free options were available. In many cases, DPL helped advisors “rescue” clients from bad policies and find cost-effective alternatives to meet clients’ needs using Commission-Free products. The financial impact of removing commissions from insurance is significant. In 2018, DPL member clients paid an average mortality and expense (M&E) fee of 0.36% compared to the average commission-based M&E of 1.25%. In 2018 alone, DPL saved member clients’ an average of $5,062 in annual fees on variable annuities. In addition to helping clients save money, advisors in the DPL network say the ability to have a truly holistic view of clients’ portfolios—that includes insurance—helps them make better-informed decisions. One DPL member advisor said “I don’t have time to sort through all the options. It’s nice knowing [my DPL consultant] is familiar with these products and points me in the right direction based on what I need for each client.” Members have expressed positive feedback with the DPL platform itself. In the 2019 T3 Inside Information Software Survey, DPL scored the highest advisor satisfaction rating in its category. Advisors that work with DPL have benefitted by being able to bring insurance assets in house rather than referring them out to a third-party insurance broker. Perhaps most importantly, advisors are now truly equipped to address clients’ retirement income needs because they can offer annuities and other insurance solutions that give clients’ peace of mind in retirement and help them achieve their financial goals.	4
WealthConductor LLC	Registered Investment Adviser		Hartford	CT	2017	IncomeConductor is an invaluable asset to my retirement planning business. The segmentation strategy is easy for clients to understand and the tracking features help us to evaluate progress. The ability to add Income Floors allows us to model the effect of different Social Security elections as well as Annuity benefits. The company also offers outstanding support.	Using the program allowed me to capture 2 large cases last year. In one of the cases, it made having a difficult conversation much easier. The client had spend much more than expected on moving and new housing expenses. Without the income conductor I would have been hard pressed to accurately predict what this would mean to their lifestyle down the road. By using the tracking feature, we were able to encourage the clients to make some dramatic changes in behavior(spend less, part time job) before it was too late.	4
Beacon Capital Management	Registered Investment Adviser		Dayton	OH	2000	Traditional investment strategies no longer carry the income guarantee they did in past generations. Between high market volatility, low-interest rates producing minimal yields, and an increasingly global interdependent marketplace, the “New ROI” that matters today is Reliability of Income. Chris Cook, CEO and founder of Beacon and author of the bestseller “Slash Your Retirement Risk,” created Vantage 2.0 portfolios as a solution for investors seeking consistent returns. These innovative portfolios provide both the protection needed from catastrophic losses during extreme volatility and the upside growth potential of equities for long-term inflation protection. The demand from advisers and investors is clear as Beacon’s AUM has grown to more than $2.5 billion as of Q4 2018. These portfolios are designed based on three pillars to redefining risk: 1. Maximize diversification with equal sector allocation: Overexposure or underexposure to any market sector can dramatically impact the overall performance of a portfolio in today’s markets, as demonstrated in the early 2000s and 2008. Vantage 2.0 portfolios invest equally over 11 market sectors to help protect from this systematic risk. 2. Minimize losses: the power of losses is greater than gains. Vantage 2.0 portfolios include mechanical stop-loss to exit the market during times of extreme volatility. When its proprietary index hits a predetermined limit, equities are sold and shifted into fixed income. As the market stabilizes, the portfolios methodically buyback into equities. 3. Maintain discipline: Through a mechanical approach, Vantage 2.0 eliminates the emotional buying and selling that leads investors to work against their long-term success. These portfolios systematically react to changing markets only when preset rules dictate. With Vantage 2.0, retirees can enjoy more consistent returns and the comfort of knowing that no matter how the market drops, they have minimized their losses to a level that can be manageable and recoverable.	Vantage 2.0 portfolios are designed to deliver the consistent returns needed in a retirement income portfolio, and they demonstrate a much greater probability for long-term success than traditional portfolios. If you were to take 5% in annual income distributions, indexed at 3% for inflation, the 30-year success rate is 96.6% based on Monte Carlo simulations. Comparatively, utilizing a mix of 60% equities (S&P 500) and 40% fixed income (Barclay’s US Aggregate Bond Index) would only provide a 78.3% 30-year success rate providing the same income.	4
Raymond James Financial	Broker-dealer		St. Petersburg	Florida	1962	As life expectancies continue to rise, financial advisors are challenged with the task of preparing clients for a financially secure retirement that may last 30 years or beyond. In addition to the financial implications of longer lives, Raymond James understands that a successful retirement requires planning for many other aspects of life that are often overlooked, but paramount to a client’s well-being. Leveraging insights from 40 financial advisors on Raymond James’ Retirement Solutions Advisory Board, the firm developed a longevity planning initiative that puts advisors at the center point of important issues, arming them with resources related to housing, caregiving, transportation, healthcare and retirement income. The initiative equips advisors with industry-leading knowledge, innovative resources and strategic relationships to help clients confidently discuss and navigate longevity planning issues. In addition to education materials, the longevity relationship program includes access to a Medicare consultation service, geriatric care management, concierge health services, elder fraud protection and end-of-life planning resources. These issues are complex and unique to each individual, and the firm’s supported resources and business relationships help make longevity planning scalable for advisors across their book of clients. More information on longevity planning resources available here: https://www.raymondjames.com/wealth-management/what-are-you-planning-for/planning-for-retirement/longevity-planning-resources.	The longevity planning resources have been used in nearly 2,000 client cases since the launch in early 2018. This is in addition to the hundreds of thousands of Goal Planning & Monitoring (Raymond James’ financial planning software) plans in place. The client-facing longevity brochure and supplement that further describe the resources have been ordered over 13,400 times. Webinars held on longevity topics have attracted over 4,100 attendees. Over 7,000 distinct users have visited longevity planning pages on Raymond James’ intranet. We have also heard of numerous anecdotal successes from advisors who are excited to be able to offer these important resources to clients. “Having additional resources has become invaluable,” said financial advisor Sandra D. Adams. “With the dedicated support of Raymond James, we’re able to take advantage of resources we may not have been able to secure or leverage on our own, giving us the time to spend developing relationships and managing our clients’ needs.” “This suite of practical, valuable longevity planning tools is a critical part of my planning process,” said financial advisor Laura Steckler. “Addressing longevity planning with my clients and their families deepens our relationships. Clients seem more connected, and we’re now able to truly provide a 360° financial planning experience.” “I like bringing up longevity with my clients. It allows us to help them with the landmines that they don’t even know they’re going to hit in the next five to seven years,” said financial advisor Amber Seale. “They’re just really pleasantly surprised that we can help them in this area.” Advisor Kjersten Lazar added, “Asking these tough questions enables me to be more than just their financial advisor. It’s helping them find the solutions that are right for them. It’s empowering, not overwhelming. It’s not just the money. There’s a lot more to it.”	4