Web site development by: |
Industry NewsParticipants like help but won't pay, survey says In the April 28, 2008 issue of Pensions & Investments, an interesting
article in the Defined Contribution section had this title. A recent
survey by Spectrem group, a Chicago-based research and consulting firm,
showed that plan participants are interested in investment advice but
don't want to pay for it. Instead, close to half of defined contribution
participants turn to friends and family for advice about their retirement
plan assets. The survey showed that 44% of the 421 participants canvased
asked friends and family for advice on investing while only 25% chose
providers and 24% sought out advisers. The survey also showed that participants
were willing to accept advice, especially if they were not charged a
fee. However, even when the advice was free, only 23% consulted an adviser.
The Pension Protection Act permits participants to consult a professional
financial advisor through their employer and this service was available
to 42% of those surveyed. All of the participants who met with an advisor
were satisfied with the advice they received, with 48% very satisfied
and 52% somewhat satisfied. However, while 70% are open to receiving
free advice only 31% are willing to pay for it. The better paid an employee,
the more likely he/she will meet with an advisor. Employees with incomes
of less than $50,000 were significantly less likely to use an adviser's
services as compared to those earning $50,000 to $99,999. Advice may
be particularly important since participants generally ignore educational
materials. Although 56% of plan providers offer educational materials
and meetings, only 12% of participants refer to them on a regular basis,
the Spectrem survey found. (Source: Pensions & Investments)
Updated 5/16/08 |
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
