The Power of Personalization in Retirement Planning with Shawn O’Brien | Tao of Chao 17

The Tao of Chao Podcast

“Personalization” in defined contribution retirement arrangements such as 401(k), 403(b), and 457 plans continues to gain momentum. This is not a fad or a marketing slogan. It is real and does improve outcomes. One way or another, personalization has seeped into our lives by suggesting entertainment, improving comfort in automobiles, saving time in kitchens, tailoring education, providing faster food service, and providing unique shopping experiences. However, personalization in retirement planning is not just a “feel good” comfort-driven sales experience. It uses data to build better solutions and make financial advice more accessible to employees. Shawn O’Brien at Cerulli has many years of research and “in the trenches” consulting experience, and he shares his contemporary insights on managed accounts, financial wellness, and the personalization ecosystem on the latest Tao of Chao podcast. This is an episode that HR executives, benefits professionals, plan fiduciaries, advisors, and consultants can all benefit from. We hope that you will enjoy listening to this episode.

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Philip Chao
Website: https://philipchao.us
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DISCLOSURE: Views expressed in the Tao of Chao podcasts are individual opinions and they do not represent the employers of each guest or the firm with which each guest is associated. Our podcasts are for educational and informational purposes only and should not be deemed or viewed as investment advice or recommendations. Please consult your personal financial advisor, investment expert, or investment fiduciary before taking any actions about your plan and investments.

Chapters

1. Cold Open (00:00:00)

2. Introducing Shawn O'Brien — Cerulli Associates (00:00:42)

3. Shawn's work with Cerulli Associates (00:01:44)

4. Anniversaries of ERISA and managed account solutions (00:03:29)

5. What is financial wellness? (00:07:44)

6. Percent of investors with access to managed accounts vs. actually using (00:09:40)

7. Why personalization is more accessible today (00:10:45)

8. Link to White Paper (00:13:06)

9. Investors want access to human advisors (00:13:06)

10. Moving away from robo advisors (00:14:05)

11. Personalization and user data (00:15:20)

12. Influence of record keepers and fintech on personalization (00:16:53)

13. Retirement plans offering so much more (00:18:19)

14. AI and Artificial Intelligence influence on retirement plans (00:19:41)

15. AI impact on retirement personalization and data sharing (00:21:18)

16. The vague definition of "financial wellness" (00:22:08)

17. Participant engagement is non-negotiable (00:24:08)

18. Increase plan engagement with incentives (00:24:39)

19. Increase plan engagement with plan champions (00:25:52)

20. Increase plan engagement with additional financial counciling (00:27:00)

21. Implementing PLESAs (00:28:59)

22. Added services, ERISA, and conflicts of interest (00:30:08)

23. Conflicts of interest vs. Plan useability (00:34:04)

24. Regulation, fiduciary, and ERISA — "we've done a good job" (00:38:31)

25. Plan vetting by employers is a big deal (00:39:19)

26. Smaller employers and PEPs (00:40:51)

27. Different types of managed accounts (00:43:53)

28. RFP on different types of asset allocations (00:47:22)

29. Personal target date solutions (00:50:20)

30. Wrapping up (00:56:36)

31. EoS (00:57:55)

32. Legal Disclosure (00:58:17)