T. Rowe Price expands partnership with Financial Engines

Financial Engines announced Thursday an expanded relationship with T. Rowe Price to bring all of Financial Engines' managed-account services to participants of retirement plans that T. Rowe Price administers. With the change, defined-contribution plan sponsors can now get Financial Engines' management for all accounts, including financial planning and a dedicated human adviser for participants. Advice is available over the phone or at one of Financial Engines' brick-and-mortar locations, which were acquired in the purchase of The Mutual Fund Store in 2015. T. Rowe clients also will get access to Financial Engines' retirement income services and digital content — like college and healthcare expense planners — meant to complement T. Rowe's education programs. The companies also are beefing up their technology integration with improved single-sign-on access, transactions and messaging capabilities. (More: Managed accounts look attractive to 401(k) advisers, but how do you measure performance?)​ Chip Roame, the managing partner of Tiburon Strategic Advisors, said the move expands Financial Engines from a narrow focus on assets held in retirement plans to capturing rollovers and other non-taxable accounts. By adding additional services to existing clients, Mr. Roame said Financial Engines should be able to rapidly increase revenue and profitability. "And client service costs will remain relatively low because many of the clients are already serviced, hence higher margins," Mr. Roame said in an email. "I like this move a lot." He added that it's likely other record keepers that work with Financial Engines will follow T. Rowe's lead. T. Rowe Price and Financial Engines were unable to comment by deadline. Financial Engines is the largest managed-account provider in the defined-contribution market, with $160 billion in assets under management, and primarily distributes its services through record keepers like T. Rowe Price. The company traditionally works with large employers, but on Feb. 6 it announced a new partnership with ADP to expand its foothold in the smaller end of the 401(k) market.