Continues Effort to Give Plan Sponsors Choice of Tools to Help Participants
Save for Retirement
BALTIMORE, Nov. 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Plan sponsors of 401(k) and
other retirement plans are increasingly looking for a variety of services that
will help their employees make smarter retirement planning decisions and
achieve their retirement savings goals. To give plan sponsors greater choice
in the tools they may wish to make available to plan participants, T. Rowe
Price has expanded the advice portion of its personal finance platform by
adding the Financial Engines Personal Asset Manager program, thereby now
offering Financial Engines' full suite of advisory services.
Designed for individuals who would prefer to delegate plan management to
an investment professional, the Personal Asset Manager program considers each
participant's financial circumstances and generates a personalized, well-
diversified portfolio using the investment options available in the plan. The
program includes portfolio monitoring and management, quarterly Progress
Reports and phone access to investment advisors.
The Personal Asset Manager program kicks off with each participant
receiving a Personal Evaluation, which is a personalized retirement assessment
that shows each participant where they stand in relation to their retirement
goals and how they can improve their financial outlook. T. Rowe Price
integrates plan and participant data so that all of the advisory services are
personalized for each employee.
Through T. Rowe Price, plan sponsors already had the ability to select
Financial Engines' Personal Online Advisor, which offers participants specific
investment recommendations and ongoing portfolio monitoring.
"As a service provider, it is very important that we make top quality
advice available to plan participants so they can make better retirement
investing decisions," says Charles E. Vieth, president of T. Rowe Price
Retirement Plan Services, Inc. "Financial Engines has a comprehensive multi-
channel platform and a proven methodology, is highly regarded for their
investment and technology expertise, and has shown that they can make a
positive difference in participants' investment behavior. In addition, their
Advice Engines can consider an investor's entire household portfolio,
including both tax-deferred and taxable investments. We are confident that
plan sponsors and employees can benefit from access to more of their
independent advice and portfolio management services.
"At the same time, aligning ourselves with multiple independent service
providers - with whom we can integrate data to provide participants with a
more personalized experience - gives us greater flexibility and allows us to
offer plan sponsors more choice in terms of methodology and format of advice
delivery," adds Mr. Vieth.
"Financial Engines' managed account program is designed to make 401(k)
investing more automatic and less overwhelming for employees," says Larry
Raffone, executive vice president for Financial Engines. "Clients of T. Rowe
Price can now benefit from the independence, consistency and personalization
of Financial Engines' full suite of advisory services."
Founded in 1937, Baltimore-based T. Rowe Price (Nasdaq: TROW) is a global
investment management firm with $257.6 billion in assets under management as
of September 30, 2005. The firm provides a broad array of mutual funds, sub-
advisory services, and separate account management for retirement plans,
individual and institutional investors, and financial intermediaries - in
addition to the services offered through Retirement Plan Services. T. Rowe
Price's disciplined, risk-aware investment approach focuses on
diversification, style consistency, and fundamental research.
Financial Engines is a new breed of investment advisor providing
personalized investment advice and portfolio management to 401(k)
participants. Founded by Nobel Prize-winning economist William F. Sharpe,
Financial Engines serves millions of employees at many of America's largest
corporations. Patented advice technology and institutional-quality investment
methodology allow Financial Engines to offer an array of advisory services to
meet the needs of all types of defined contribution plan investors. For more
information, please visit http://www.financialengines.com.
Financial Engines is not affiliated with or an employee or an agent of T.
Rowe Price or any of its affiliates. Plan Sponsors must elect to make the
Financial Engines services available.
SOURCE T. Rowe Price
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Related links:
http://www.troweprice.com
http://www.financialengines.com
CONTACT:
Brian Lewbart, +1-410-345-2242, or Heidi
Walsh, +1-410-345-7783, both of T. Rowe Price
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