Voya launches advisor managed accounts program

Rhea-AI Summary

Voya Financial (NYSE: VOYA) has announced the launch of its new advisor managed accounts advisory program in partnership with Morningstar Investment Management. This initiative aims to equip Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs) with resources to provide consistent investment advice to retirement plan participants. A recent Voya survey indicates that 76% of working Americans want professional guidance for their retirement savings. The program is expected to enhance financial wellness while generating new business opportunities for advisory firms.

Positive

• Launch of advisor managed accounts program increases support for retirement plan participants.
• 76% of working Americans desire professional investment advice, indicating strong market demand.
• Integration with Morningstar Investment Management enhances the service offering and fiduciary support.
• Program can help RIA firms generate new business opportunities through personalized advice.

Negative

• None.

Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE: VOYA), announced today the launch of its new advisor managed accounts advisory program in collaboration with Morningstar Investment Management LLC. As one of the latest services within Voya’s suite of innovative resources that support the financial wellness needs of all Americans, the new advisor managed accounts program provides Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs) with the proper resources needed to distribute investment advice to retirement plan participants through a consistent and scalable user experience.

According to Voya research, when thinking about their retirement, working individuals seek greater support and access to advice around saving and investment decisions. The results of a new Voya survey show that more than three-quarters (76%) of working Americans currently enrolled in a workplace retirement plan agree or strongly agree that they want access to a professional whom they can call with questions and to make investment and savings decisions for them.¹

“In today’s world, financial professionals are becoming increasingly important, particularly as some individuals will need to rebuild their savings due to the financial impacts of COVID-19,” said Jeff Cimini, senior vice president, Retirement Product, Voya Financial. “At Voya, we are continuously focused on investing in both the resources and technology that can help play a role in advancing a better financial future for all individuals — many of whom are increasingly looking to their employer for guidance and resources. As we continue to think holistically about how the financial wellness needs of individuals will evolve and — importantly — how we can address them, innovations such as managed accounts are an important consideration for employers. By improving savings, investment and retirement ‘spend down’ decisions, managed accounts can ultimately help to have a positive impact on one’s future financial outlook.”

New research from Morningstar Investment Management suggests managed accounts are likely to gain even more popularity among workplace retirement plans in today’s environment as more individuals continue remote-working arrangements. According to the research, remote workers invest differently from office-based workers in 401(k) plans in that they are less likely to be interested in using default investments (such as target-date funds) and are more likely to be interested in a personalized advice option (such as managed accounts).² The same study also notes that participants who use managed accounts tend to save more for retirement — both when the service is offered as an opt-in and opt-out method.³

Morningstar Investment Management provides the technology for the advisor managed accounts platform and serves as the fiduciary for portfolio assignment and recommendations on such things as savings rates and retirement age. With Voya serving as the recordkeeper, the advisor-managed accounts program offers an integrated service model, providing participants with a single sign-on to Morningstar Investment Management’s user interface and support services through Voya’s core capabilities. These include financial professional phone support through Voya’s service center, maintaining the connection with Morningstar Investment Management to transfer plan participant data and transactions, and implementation of participant portfolio assignments. Through the program, employers can also provide their retirement plan participants with personalized advice based on model portfolios aligned with an RIA firm’s investment expertise, allowing for more-informed investing decisions to help achieve their desired outcomes.

The program can also help RIA firms when it comes to generating new business opportunities by allowing financial professionals to offer personalized advice in a scalable manner. Voya has already launched the advisor managed accounts program with advisory firms CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC, and Resources Investment Advisors – A OneDigital Company. As the program advances, Voya expects to work with additional industry-leading advisory firms to offer the service to more clients.

“The main reason we created advisor managed accounts is to give more working Americans access to personalized advice that positions them to achieve the retirement they are working so hard for,” said Brock Johnson, president, Global Retirement & Workplace Solutions, Morningstar Investment Management LLC. “To accomplish this objective, we need to make it as easy as possible for advisors to offer and advocate for managed accounts, so we are thrilled that Voya has agreed to support our platform with so many advisory firms.”

The new advisor managed accounts service builds on the launch of Voya’s recent innovative offerings, including the firm’s: Emergency Savings fund solutions; budget calculator; Voya Learn digital educational platform; financial wellness platform; and myOrangeMoney^® experience, which is helping millions of Americans change the way they manage and engage with their retirement plan.

As an industry leader focused on the delivery of health, wealth and investment solutions to and through the workplace, Voya Financial is committed to delivering on its mission to make a secure financial future possible for all Americans — one person, one family, one institution at a time.

1. Based on results of a Voya Financial survey conducted through AYTM –Ask Your Target Market online research platform between Jan. 18-26, 2021, among n=750 Americans age 18+ who are full-time employees and actively contributing to their employer-sponsored retirement plan, balanced by age and gender to reflect the U.S. population.

2. & 3. “Out of Sight, but Not Out of Mind: Helping Remote Workers with Retirement Managed Accounts,” (Morningstar, Jan. 2021).

About Voya Financial^®

Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE: VOYA), helps Americans plan, invest and protect their savings — to get ready to retire better. Serving the financial needs of approximately 14.8 million individual and institutional customers in the United States, Voya is a Fortune 500 company that had $7.6 billion in revenue in 2020. The company had $700 billion in total assets under management and administration as of Dec. 31, 2020. With a clear mission to make a secure financial future possible — one person, one family, one institution at a time — Voya’s vision is to be America’s Retirement Company®. Certified as a “Great Place to Work” by the Great Place to Work® Institute, Voya is equally committed to conducting business in a way that is socially, environmentally, economically and ethically responsible. Voya has earned recognition as one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies® by the Ethisphere Institute; as the No. 1-ranked financial services firm among Barron’s 100 Most Sustainable Companies for three consecutive years; as a member of the Bloomberg Gender Equality Index; and as a “Best Place to Work for Disability Inclusion” on the Disability Equality Index. For more information, visit voya.com. Follow Voya Financial on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter @Voya.

About Morningstar's Investment Management LLC

Our parent company, Morningstar, Inc., was founded on the simple idea that when people have good investment information, they can make better choices that help them achieve their financial goals. In the Retirement Solutions group at Morningstar Investment Management LLC, a subsidiary of Morningstar, Inc. and a registered investment advisor, our advocacy for the individual investor extends to the workplace retirement market where the responsibility for investing and saving now rests with employees. Our products and services — which range from a managed accounts service to target-date products to custom models and fiduciary services — are not only designed to help people save for the retirement they want, but to help them make their money last once they get there.

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FAQ

What is the new service announced by Voya Financial on March 23, 2021?

Voya Financial launched an advisor managed accounts advisory program in collaboration with Morningstar Investment Management.

How does Voya's new managed accounts program benefit retirement plan participants?

The program provides personalized investment advice and resources to help improve financial wellness for retirement plan participants.

What percentage of working Americans want professional retirement advice according to Voya's survey?

According to the survey, 76% of working Americans enrolled in a workplace retirement plan seek professional advice.

What role does Morningstar Investment Management play in Voya's advisor managed accounts program?

Morningstar Investment Management provides technology for the platform and serves as the fiduciary for portfolio assignments and recommendations.