Products March 26, 2003

Wachovia to Field Morningstar Advice Product

March 26, 2003 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Defined contribution plans at Wachovia Retirement Services will soon have access to a new investment advice and portfolio management program from Morningstar Associates.
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According to announcements from both companies, Wachovia is the first retirement plan provider to implement portions of Morningstar’s new Managed Retirement Portfolios. The new services will be included in Wachovia’s AdviceTrack product now scheduled for an April launch.

Advice to participants of 401(k) and other defined contribution programs will come from asset allocation models generated by Morningstar based on participant data and a fund lineup selected by Wachovia. Participants in the AdviceTrack program can get a customized investment strategy, which will be implemented by Wachovia.   Morningstar will also periodically monitor and rebalance the portfolios.

The company announcements said the Morningstar Managed Retirement Portfolios are designed for participants who want professionals to make their investment decisions for them.   The service:

  • accounts for relevant plan rules and fund restrictions
  • makes appropriate recommendations regarding existing positions in company stock
  • uses qualitative and quantitative analysis
  • adjusts its fund recommendations if the participant provides information about outside assets, preferences for particular funds, or other personal data.

Also under AdviceTrack, employees commit to incremental annual increases in their savings rate, generally timed to coincide with merit reviews, to make it easier for participants to contribute more to their plan.

Wachovia Retirement Services has more than 3,000 retirement plans representing more than 800,000 participants, according to the announcements.

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