Charles Schwab announced their 2016 401(k) participant survey and it states the obvious: 401(k) participants need help.
Less than half (43%) of participants know how much they should save for retirement. Fewer that half (44%) have the confidence to make their own 401(k) decisions. Almost ¾ (74%) said would be confident in making investment decisions with the help of a financial advisor.
70% of plan participants said they would like personalized investment advice for their 401(k) account, and 58% wish there was an easier way to know how to choose investments.
What does it all mean? Plan participants need help and they want help. So like the core belief of one of my business idols, Vince McMahon, give people what they want. They are aware that they might not be able to make the best investment decisions, so it’s incumbent on the plan sponsors and their providers to offer something more than just basic investment education. I understand financial advisors don’t want to offer investment advice on their own because of the regulatory hurdles they have to pass, but there are great service provider like an rj20.com that can offer that investment advice service on their part without stepping on the feet for the current advisor.