Fidelity Finds Web Education Spurs Participant Action

According to Fidelity, 40% of participants who were not enrolled in their company 401(k) plan enroll after participating in an e-Learning Workshop.   Additionally, 16% of participants who invested their retirement savings in only two funds or less diversify their assets into more than two funds after attending an e-Learning session.

Fidelity’s analysis of communication and education data revealed that more than 50,000 401(k) participants the company serves are now using Fidelity e-Learning workshops, which are integrated with Fidelity’s NetBenefits 401(k) participant site and retirement account-management tool.

The integration of NetBenefits and e-Learning workshops has enabled participants to apply what they learn and make any changes to their accounts after completing lessons addressing diversification, asset allocation, and exchanges, Fidelity said.

Fidelity said it will expand its e-Learning Workshop series with a session on mutual fund investing for its eight million 401(k) participants later this year.

Designed to teach 401(k) participants more advanced topics, the new Mutual Fund Investing workshop will offer tools to evaluate the different types of mutual funds, benchmarks, and mutual fund rating systems.

It will join e-Learning sessions on savings, investment strategy, and new tax laws.