Press Release
Wells Fargo Hires mPower to Provide Retirement Advice
Emphasis on Employee Savings Discipline Complements Risk Assessment and Asset Allocation Advice
San Francisco, CA, June 18, 2002 -- mPower, a leading provider of online investment advice, education and solutions, today announced that Wells Fargo & Company has added the mPower Personal Advisor retirement planning and advice service to its list of signature employee benefits. mPower Personal Advisor will give Wells Fargo's 100,000 retirement plan participants expert online financial advice, provide systematic education and motivation for increased savings, and enable easy and active management of retirement portfolios and associated financial assets.
Why mPower
When Wells Fargo decided to select a retirement advice provider, the company implemented a comprehensive RFP and assembled a committee of Wells Fargo investment experts to assist in evaluating five candidate providers. Primary selection criteria were: quality of user experience, the quality of advice given, and the advice provider's philosophy regarding retirement savings and investing.
Wells Fargo ultimately selected mPower because the company scored high in all categories, with especially high marks for its strong focus on systematically advising and educating employees to increase savings percentages while optimizing their asset allocation based on a rigorous assessment of risk tolerance.
According to Sally Welborn, director of corporate benefits for Wells Fargo, "Recent events have put corporate retirement plans in the spotlight, but we began exploring ways to improve this critical area of employee benefits long before it became a nationally debated issue.
"The Wells Fargo retirement programs are our signature employee benefit. A retirement advice service adds value to those benefits because a high percentage of employees' future financial security will come from their 401k and related programs. We see mPower as the best alternative for advice because their philosophy of saving and investing is in line with ours. We are committed to delivering the best tools and services to our employees to enable them to save and invest effectively toward meeting their retirement goals," concluded Welborn.
Special Requirements
mPower worked closely with Wells Fargo to customize the Personal Advisor service to meet the company's specific requirements. Employee participants access the Personal Advisor service through Wells Fargo's custom retirement service site for employees.
Beyond the company's 401k plan, mPower's advice services cover Wells Fargo's generous cash balance pension plan and non-qualified supplemental plans as well as a deferred compensation plan (which may or may not be retirement-focused).
Going Live
mPower also worked closely with Wells Fargo to inform and prepare employees for the introduction of mPower Personal Advisor. Emails were distributed to alert employees of the upcoming service and provide guidance on a number of topics, including the benefits of participation and diversification, risk tolerance variables and education on basic service use.
Wells Fargo will work with mPower to implement a continuous employee education campaign that highlights the need for periodic portfolio review based on changes in personal goals, risk tolerance and long-term market factors.
About mPower
Founded in 1995, mPower Advisors, L.L.C., a federally registered investment advisor, was a pioneer in offering online investment advice to defined-contribution plan participants, and remains a leading provider in this field. mPower has expanded its service offerings to include wealth management tools for financial institutions and advisors. mPower's flexible architecture and superior integration capabilities allow it to deliver advice consistently and efficiently through multiple distribution channels, with different levels of integration and customization.
All visitors to mPower's Web site have access to the mPower Cafe, an award-winning educational site offering free retirement and investment information on defined contribution plans -- 401k, 403(b) and 457 -- and Individual Retirement Accounts. The information is relevant for readers with all levels of investment knowledge, and easy to understand. The mPower Cafe has been cited by numerous publications as one of the best online resources for investment education.
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