Empower Retirement to Launch Digital Wealth Management Platform to Serve Mass Affluent Market
November 5, 2018
Nation’s second largest retirement provider expands reach to
underserved investors
Wealthsimple, Apex join integrated effort to simplify and redefine
financial planning experience
GREENWOOD VILLAGE, Colo.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–#401k–Empower Retirement today announced plans to launch a digital
consumer-focused wealth management platform designed to deliver a robust
suite of financial services for new and existing Empower Individual
Retirement Account customers and prospective individual investors.
The new platform will offer consumers integrated access to investment
advice, financial planning and insurance through a single user
experience designed to help optimize the investment of assets, clarify
goals and enhance financial planning. Empower will target the new
platform to underserved mass affluent investors who may not currently
work with a professional advisor as they make crucial personal financial
decisions.
“Many Americans have the opportunity to achieve a higher level of
financial security by optimizing their personal investing and financial
planning strategies,” said Empower Retirement President Edmund F. Murphy
III. “We see a significant opportunity to help these investors achieve
greater financial security with the help of innovative digital tools and
investing expertise.”
People want actionable, easy-to-use digital experiences—and the markets
are demanding that every firm provide them, especially in the financial
services industry, Murphy said.
“Technology has created a new age of disruption that’s challenging
standard modes of serving customers,” he said. “Empower has a legacy of
providing cutting-edge tools to help participants take action on their
retirement plan – and now we’re bringing that kind of innovation to
wealth management.”
The new platform will provide a simple and intuitive interface and an
integrated managed account and service experience.
Wealthsimple & Apex
Empower will develop the platform in collaboration with Toronto-based
Wealthsimple US, Ltd and Dallas-based Apex Clearing Corporation.
“The financial services market is evolving, and there’s demand for
wealth management solutions centered on individual clients’ needs that
are available to everyone, regardless of age or net worth,” said Michael
Katchen, Chief Executive Officer of Wealthsimple. “This new platform
combines the expertise of three firms to offer such a solution to
advisors and their clients.”
Wealthsimple brings smart technology and human advisors together to make
investing simple and accessible. The company has been recognized for its
innovative, intuitive design and user experience. Wealthsimple will work
with Empower to build the user experience of the new retail platform.
Recognized as an innovator in its market, Apex will create and manage
back office functions for the new platform. Apex provides digital
clearing and execution services to the financial industry and serves as
the operational “backbone” for hundreds of organizations including some
of the fastest growing online brokerage platforms, robo-advisors,
financial technology start-ups, and proprietary trading groups.
“We are excited to partner with Empower and Wealthsimple to help
increase the range of financial services and investment opportunities
available to retirement savers,” said Bill Capuzzi, CEO of Apex
Clearing. “The future of digital wealth management will be shaped by the
democratizing power of technology and the seamless integration of
financial disciplines to deliver a robust and efficient online client
experience, all of which are hallmarks of this new solution.”
Murphy pointed to the interplay of technology and human advisors as
crucial to modern wealth management, highlighting all three firms’ focus
on digital solutions to promote financial security.
Recent survey results published by the Empower Institute show that
savers who work with an advisor have a significant advantage in
projected income replacement versus those who do not. Respondents using
a traditional or online advisor have income replacement rates of 116
percent, on average, versus 58 percent for those with no advisor — a
100 percent improvement.1
“Ours is an advisor-centric model,” said Murphy. “An advisor’s expertise
can help investors stay focused on the long term and keep their
portfolios on a disciplined course. Empower is here to help those who
may not be accessing professional advice on their own.”
Empower, with approximately $570 billion in assets under administration
and 8.7 million participants in 38,000 employer-sponsored retirement
plans,2 is the nation’s second largest retirement plan
provider.3 Integrated financial technology tools have been
the hallmark of Empower’s highly successful retirement plan solutions
since the firm’s inception in 2014.
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1 |
“Scoring the Progress of Retirement Savers,” The Empower |
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2 |
As of Sept. 30, 2018, information refers to all retirement |
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3 |
Information refers to all retirement business of Great-West |
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About Wealthsimple
Wealthsimple is a financial company that provides financial advice and
services that are accessible, affordable, and human. Wealthsimple
provides services in the U.S., the U.K., and Canada. The company was
founded by a team of financial experts and technology entrepreneurs, and
is backed by the Power Financial group of companies. Power Financial
Corporation (TSX: PWF) is a diversified management and holding company
that has interests, directly or indirectly, in companies in the
financial services sector in Canada, the United States and Europe. To
learn more, visit www.wealthsimple.com.
About Apex
Apex Clearing is a custody and clearing engine that’s powering the
future of digital wealth management. As a clearing firm, Apex delivers
speed, efficiency and flexibility to firms ranging from innovative
start-ups to blue-chip brands that choose to grow with us. Apex’s
fully-integrated, customized solutions allow registered investment
advisors (RIAs), digital advisors, fintech firms, broker dealers and
full-service firms to provide the seamless digital experiences consumers
expect and to reach more investors and serve them profitably. Founded in
2012 and based in Dallas – with offices in New York City, Chicago and
Portland, Oregon – Apex Clearing Corporation is registered with the SEC,
a member of FINRA, and a participant in SIPC. For more information,
visit www.apexclearing.com.
About Empower Retirement
Headquartered in metro Denver, Empower Retirement administers $570
billion in assets for more than 8.7 million retirement plan participants.
It is the nation’s second-largest retirement plan record keeper by
total participants (Pensions & Investments, April
2018). Empower serves all segments of the employer-sponsored retirement
plan market: government 457 plans, small, midsize, and large corporate
401(k) clients, non-profit 403(b) entities, private-label recordkeeping
clients and Individual Retirement Account customers. For more
information, please visit www.Empower-retirement.com.
Learn More:
To learn more about how we’re empowering plan sponsors and their
participants to be more engaged in their retirement plans than ever
before, call us at 800-719-9914.
Contacts
for Empower Retirement
Stephen Gawlik
303-737-0899
(office)
617-417-4408 (cell)
or
Monica Mendoza
303-737-2626
(office)
719-373-2460 (cell)