Author: iralogixdev

IRALOGIX, a leading retirement industry fintech provider, today announced the appointment of Tom Albergo as Chief Operations Officer. Albergo will assume his new position on December 2, report to Peter de Silva, Chief Executive Officer, and be a member of the Company’s Executive Leadership Team. Albergo succeeds Christine Skatchke, who is retiring at the end of December.

“We are excited to welcome Tom to the IRALOGIX team and are eager to leverage his experience, service orientation, and operational acumen to drive our continued growth,” said Peter de Silva. “With his extensive background in retirement operations, Tom is the perfect fit to help us achieve our growth, client experience, and operational goals. I am confident that his insights and contributions will be pivotal in accelerating our progress and strengthening IRALOGIX’s position as a leader in the retirement marketplace.”

“I am thrilled to join IRALOGIX as COO, especially at such a transformative time in the company’s journey. I look forward to shaping our operational strategy to deliver outstanding service to our customers and helping to shape and drive our business strategy through efficiency, innovation, and investments in our people.”

Most recently, Albergo served as Senior Vice President of Retirement Operations for Ascensus. He was responsible for growing business operations, driving process improvements, and enhancing line quality and service. He oversaw two retirement operating centers, two offshore service centers, and a $25 million P&L. Before Ascensus, Albergo held senior operations roles at ING.

 

IRALOGIX provides the tools and insights needed to streamline your IRA program costs and create a fee structure that enables your institution to remain competitive and responsive to client needs.

The fee structure for a financial institution’s IRA program plays a significant role in meeting both revenue and client retention goals. Balancing these sometimes competing interests is critical for a successful IRA program. The challenge lies in designing IRA fee structures that are transparent, ethical, and aligned with the institution’s goals and clients’ needs. Let’s explore how financial institutions can structure IRA fees to drive profitability while keeping clients engaged and loyal.

Understand IRA Fee Structures

IRA program sponsors, such as financial institutions, brokerages, trust companies and insurance companies, all charge different fees for their IRA offerings. The fees charged depend on the types of investments offered and the sponsor’s role in servicing the IRA program and account holders. Here are the types of fees typically charged for an IRA:

• Custodial fees for safekeeping assets, tax reporting and providing a trading platform
  • Administrative fees for recordkeeping, and account maintenance, reconciliation and statements
  • Management fees for overseeing the IRA program and/or selecting and monitoring the investments offered
  • Trading fees for each investment buy or sell order
  • Transaction fees for account holder transactions such as withdrawals or conversions
  • Paper fees for printing and mailing paper statements or other documents when clients elect a paper delivery option
• Investment advice fees for managed accounts or advisory services

Financial institutions typically apply these fees using one or more of these fee models:

• Asset-based fees offer scalable solutions reflecting the slide of a client’s portfolio
  • Tiered pricing based on account balance thresholds or service levels offer flexibility for various client segments
  • Flat fees do not change based on account balance or services provided, offering simplicity and predictability and appealing to clients seeking pricing structures that are easy to understand

Most IRA owners will not see all these fees itemized on their account statements. Some fees may not apply to an IRA program and most institutions bundle certain types of fees on the financial disclosure. This can make it difficult for account holders to determine how much they are paying for certain services or to compare IRA programs if the fees are not clearly explained.

Ethical Considerations

The IRA fee structure is crucial for maintaining credibility within the financial services market. While higher fees can increase revenue and profitability, they can also erode client trust if they’re hidden or mischaracterized. Financial institutions must ensure that their IRA fees reflect the value delivered and do not create potential conflicts of interest. Transparent fee practices can distinguish a firm from its competitors, fostering a reputation for integrity and reliability. Key considerations for ethical IRA fee structuring include

• • Clear explanations of fees and services, and how they will be applied,
  • Pricing that is reasonable and commensurate with the services provided, and
  • Regular reviews of fee practices considering market conditions, business goals, and client feedback.

Strategies for Maintaining Profitability in a Competitive Market

Put simply, profitability depends on effectively structuring fees to cover more than just the actual costs of operating the IRA program. The costs can include paying for recordkeeping technology and software, print and mailing services, compliance and legal services, and staff compensation and training. These internal costs can easily increase to the point where an IRA program is no longer profitable or can only be offered to account holders with balances large enough to warrant higher fees.

Upgrading technology is one way to reduce some of these costs in the long term, but that typically requires a large up-front investment. New technology alone is not the answer. A competitive IRA program still requires the right features, pricing and staffing to align with client needs and market dynamics.

Another strategy for maintaining a competitive IRA program is offering value-added features that don’t significantly increase internal costs. At a minimum, account holders want a secure, user-friendly online experience for managing their IRAs. But many account holders (and advisors) are now also seeking low-cost investments, rather than retail pricing, for rollover IRAs as a result of regulatory initiatives. It’s the additional features, such as personalized investment or draw-down advice, that enhance the perception of value. Many financial institutions, large and small, don’t have the internal bandwidth or funding to build, maintain and update all the facets required for a competitive IRA program.

As a result, an effective strategy is to partner with a provider that enables the financial institution to enhance its IRA program without increasing internal costs or compromising on services or fee transparency.

Achieve the Right Balance with IRALOGIX

IRALOGIX offers a cloud-native, white-labeled IRA recordkeeping platform that integrates seamlessly with a financial institution’s brand and website. Our online, paperless service includes compliance expertise, a friendly, knowledgeable customer care center, custody, trading, and personalized IRA features. We strive to keep our recordkeeping fees low, and we offer institutional share class investments with no trading fees, aligning with our mission to make retirement saving and investing accessible to everyone, regardless of account balance. We charge a base fee for recordkeeping and compliance services and enable financial institutions to set their own fees using tiered pricing and asset-based fee models.

By embracing innovative outsourced solutions, like IRALOGIX, financial institutions can enhance the value of their IRA programs and retain their clients, without increasing in-house costs and still maintain fee integrity. If you’re interested in optimizing your IRA program and elevating client satisfaction, reach out to us. Together, we can transform these opportunities into lasting growth.

IRAs have long served as essential tools to help reach retirement goals. However, as savers’ needs become more diverse and complex, legacy IRA programs could fall short. By leveraging advanced technology, IRALOGIX helps financial institutions deliver IRA programs that not only help meet the evolving demands of modern savers but also change the future of retirement saving.

The Future of IRAs

Today’s retirement planning industry is more dynamic than ever, with investors seeking solutions that offer convenience, flexibility, transparency, and personalized support. This evolution is leading to the development of innovative IRA features that transform IRAs from basic savings vehicles into customized retirement planning tools.

Technology-driven platforms are at the forefront of this transformation. For example, SaaS-based solutions enable financial institutions to work with platform providers to offer an innovative IRA program without having to modify existing systems architecture. IRALOGIX is revolutionizing the retirement industry with its proprietary cloud-native recordkeeping platform that offers complete IRA administration and the unique, flexible features that are maximizing the role of IRAs in a retirement saver’s financial journey.

Here are some of the features that make IRALOGIX a collaborator for taking your IRA program into the future.

Competitive Investments for Everyone

IRALOGIX provides financial institutions complete control over the investment line-up in their IRA program using institutional shares with no minimums. This flexible structure helps to ensure that all savers, regardless of the size of their account balance, can access competitive investment options compared to the typical retail alternatives​.

With no minimum balance requirements, financial institutions can say “yes” to any size IRA, meeting a huge gap in the industry for many savers. Financial institutions can also support retirement plan sponsors by providing an automatic rollover IRA program with the financial organization’s choice of a default investment. When individuals claim their IRAs, they can reallocate to the IRA program’s competitive options that are carefully screened by the financial institution and continue saving for retirement.

Customized Interfaces to Promote Your Brand

A fully customizable, white-label platform allows each financial institution to promote its brand while offering an innovative IRA program, providing a competitive edge in the marketplace​. Accountholders can access the IRA platform from their financial institution’s website with seamless integration.

Flexible Advice Solutions

IRALOGIX works with Morningstar Investment Management, LLC and Envestnet to offer digital advice engines that allow financial institutions to help ensure that investors across all risk profiles, ages and net worth can receive tailored savings guidance in a managed account.

Through IRALOGIX’s relationship with Morningstar Retirement, financial institutions can also offer a managed account engine, Morningstar® Retirement Manager℠, to provide even more automated support. This feature helps put savers on the path to meeting their retirement goals with holistic, dynamic and easily accessible digital advice. Using the information an individual provides, this service can

• • Recommend a personalized investment portfolio,
  • Monitor and adjust allocations as needed,
  • Estimate the amount of savings an individual will need in retirement,
  • Provide regular progress reports, and
  • Recommend changes to contributions, retirement age, and Social Security strategies to help the individual reach their goals.

These integrated features help make it easier for financial institutions to offer comprehensive advice services to anyone, helping individuals reach their retirement goals and helping to enhance portfolio performance.

Automated Features

IRALOGIX automates other critical aspects of retirement saving and income planning:

• • Savers can set up recurring contributions, helping to ensure growth of their retirement savings and dollar-cost averaging.
  • IRALOGIX simplifies and automates the Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) process, helping ensure compliance and reducing administrative burdens.
  • Retirees can receive a personalized withdrawal strategy and automate monthly payments to help ensure a steady income stream throughout their retirement​.

IRALOGIX’s cloud-native technology provides these features and more, with paperless enrollment and transactions on mobile-friendly portals.

Grow Your IRA Footprint with IRALOGIX

The future of IRAs is more than promising, driven by innovative features that allow financial institutions to help meet the diverse needs of savers and retirees. IRALOGIX is leading this change with an IRA platform that leverages advanced technology to ensure that flexible and personalized features are available for any size account balance.

Financial institutions looking to enhance their IRA programs, while offloading administration and compliance burdens, can collaborate with IRALOGIX to make this happen. Contact us to learn how we can support you in meeting the evolving demands of retirement savers.

©2024 Morningstar Investment Management LLC. All rights reserved. The Morningstar name and logo are registered marks of Morningstar, Inc. Morningstar Retirement offers research- and technology-driven products and services to individuals, workplace retirement plans, and other industry players. Associated advisory services are provided by Morningstar Investment Management LLC, a registered investment adviser and subsidiary of Morningstar, Inc.

Morningstar® Retirement Manager℠ is intended for citizens or legal residents of the United States. Investment advice generated by Morningstar Retirement Manager is based on information provided and limited to the investment options available in the defined contribution plan. Projections and other information regarding the likelihood of various retirement income and/or investment outcomes are hypothetical in nature, do not reflect actual results, and are not guarantees of future results. Results may vary with each use and over time.

All investments involve risk, including the loss of principal. There can be no assurance that any financial strategy will be successful. There is no guarantee that the results of their advice, recommendations or objectives of a strategy will be achieved.

The financial services industry is fiercely competitive, which means customer retention isn’t just desirable—it’s essential. With IRALOGIX’s cloud-native solutions, institutions can offer strategic IRA features that transform simple transactions into long-term relationships, allowing clients to engage with a trusted partner as they navigate their financial journeys.

Transform Customer Loyalty

Well-crafted IRA solutions enable financial institutions to deepen customer loyalty by recognizing and addressing the unique needs of each client. By leveraging technology and tailored features, strategic IRA offerings elevate customer satisfaction levels and foster deeper connections.

Step 1. Decipher Customer Needs and Preferences

Financial institutions face growing pressure to offer new features and conveniences to remain competitive. While Traditional, Roth, and SIMPLE IRAs remain fundamental retirement saving tools, the demand for enhanced account features has evolved as modern technology revolutionizes the IRA industry.

• Consumers expect to access their financial accounts on mobile-friendly portals, with real-time updates and seamless transactions.
• Job changers and retirees are looking for rollover IRAs features that compare to employer-sponsored plans, including model portfolios, managed accounts, and institutional share class investments.
• Younger investors may be seeking higher risk investments with the potential for higher returns and value personalized recommendations on savings rates.
• Baby Boomers often prioritize low-risk, income-generating options and draw-down strategies.
• Competitive fee structures make products more attractive, while flexible contribution methods and systematic withdrawals add convenience.

Customizing IRA solutions to address diverse client needs is mission-critical. Conducting surveys and focus groups can reveal these nuanced preferences, providing invaluable insights for tailoring your offerings.

Step 2. Implement New IRA Features

Offering a multi-featured IRA program requires a large investment for financial institutions. However, industry partnerships can provide cost-effective solutions, allowing financial institutions to offer desired features without the heavy investment in building and maintaining proprietary technology or managing compliance and regulatory updates internally. By partnering with specialized providers, financial institutions can streamline administrative processes, reduce operational burdens, and deliver a more comprehensive and efficient IRA experience. This approach frees institutions to focus on their core strengths while leveraging external expertise for the back-end complexities of IRA administration.

Step 3. Boost Awareness of Strategic IRA Solutions

Promotion is crucial to the success of any strategic offering. Using multiple channels like webinars, newsletters, educational initiatives, and social media can significantly increase the visibility of your solutions. For example, a well-executed social media campaign that highlights the benefits of your innovative IRA features can reach thousands, if not millions, of potential customers. A webinar can provide valuable industry insights to advisors and explain how your IRA features can benefit their clients.

Staff training is another vital component of your marketing efforts. Well-informed employees who can effectively communicate the advantages of various IRA products or features foster a deeper sense of trust and loyalty with your customers. They can answer questions and personalize the benefit of each feature to the customer, enhancing customer satisfaction—and take-up rate of new features.

The Value of Strategic IRA Offerings

Adding strategic IRA offerings can be a pivotal growth strategy for financial institutions. When customers understand the benefits of consolidating their retirement assets in an IRA that offers the features they’re looking for, you can deepen relationships with existing clients, acquire new clients, increase assets, and differentiate your brand in a crowded market.

Leveraging specialized providers and technology solutions to implement new features can reduce internal labor and development costs to administer IRAs and build or maintain systems. In addition, the right partnership will provide streamlined processes, compliance support, account holder support, and an advanced platform to simplify the customer experience and optimize outcomes.

Institutions that fail to innovate risk losing customers to competitors and missing key opportunities, like rollovers.

Embrace Innovation for Lasting Loyalty

In today’s competitive IRA market, financial institutions must stay ahead of evolving customer needs. With increasing demand for personalized services and ever-changing compliance requirements, now is the time to evaluate your IRA program.

IRALOGIX can help you enhance your IRA program and customer retention. With our cloud-native platform, compliance expertise, and strategic IRA features, we make it easy for institutions to offer cutting-edge technology solutions, streamline administrative processes, and stay ahead of consumer expectations in the rapidly changing IRA market.

Enhance your customer retention strategy with strategic IRA solutions designed to meet today’s challenges. Contact IRALOGIX  to explore how we can help streamline your offerings and drive long-term loyalty.

Advances in technology and innovative IRA solutions, such as those offered by IRALOGIX, provide financial advisors with a significant opportunity: help more clients simplify and optimize their retirement portfolios with IRA rollovers. IRALOGIX’s proprietary, cloud-native solution makes consolidating and managing retirement accounts easier, more efficient, and cost-effective for both advisors and investors.

The Strategic Opportunity

Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) are essential tools for effective retirement planning. They can be used to accumulate tax-deferred and tax-free wealth. They also facilitate tax-free consolidation of retirement accounts, enhance investment options, and help clients better manage retirement income goals.

But many retirement savers struggle with multiple, fragmented retirement accounts, which often creates confusion and inefficiencies. The perception that consolidating funds in an IRA is too complex or costly prevents job changers and retirees from taking proactive steps toward a more streamlined financial future. Depending on account balance, many savers struggle to find the right assistance. The solution for advisors who want to help—and increase their share of the growing IRA market—lies in a straightforward yet transformative IRA rollover strategy.

Unlock the Potential

The key to a transformative IRA strategy is unlocking a range of opportunities by partnering with an IRA program that allows you to retain your clients and AUM/AMA and offer a tiered business model. Consider how many more clients you could say “yes” to with an IRA program that enables you to offer an IRA with no minimum threshold, low-cost institutional share class investments, and a digital advice engine. With the flexibility to offer an IRA rollover to any prospect with any size account balance, without adding more hours to the workday or taking time away from servicing your wealth management clients, you can open new avenues for client engagement and revenue growth. Clients benefit from each level of your services depending on their needs.

1. Avoid Common Rollover Pitfalls

Despite the advantages, rollovers can present challenges if not executed properly. Common pitfalls include premature cash-outs, misunderstanding tax implications, missing critical deadlines, and high IRA fees. Advisors can easily assist clients with the IRA search and the rollover process by offering an IRA program that allows account holders to roll over their assets and manage their IRAs through an easy-to-use, paperless platform with low cost investments.

2. Expand Investment Support Opportunities

Unlike the often-restricted choices available in employer-sponsored plans, like single fund family offerings, IRAs should offer a diverse range of investments and investment providers. This allows advisors to use IRAs to craft tailored investment portfolios for wealth management clients as well as model portfolios or managed accounts that can be used by many clients.

Modern technology platforms enhance this capability, providing tools that enable advisors to manage investment portfolios efficiently. Digital solutions that automate investment management enable advisors to scale their services while still empowering low-touch clients with personalized investment insights.

3. Maximize Tax Efficiency

IRAs also present opportunities for strategic retirement income planning. Unlike 401(k) plans, IRAs offer greater flexibility in managing Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) and converting pre-tax savings into tax-free income for retirees and their heirs. By strategically timing rollovers, conversions, charitable giving, and withdrawals, advisors can help clients minimize tax burdens, preserve wealth, and enhance long-term returns.

Mastering the Art of IRA Rollovers

A successful IRA rollover strategy is more than just helping retirement savers move money; it’s about providing a comprehensive service that enhances their financial well-being and strengthens your firm’s position in the market.

• Select the Right IRA Platform: Look for an IRA platform that offers a variety of investment selection and management features so you can expand your IRA rollover prospects without having to modify your advisory services business model.
• Select a Favorable Fee Structure: IRA fee structures are a critical component of determining whether a rollover is in a saver’s best interests, depending on their particular needs. Consider an IRA program with low-cost investments comparable to those typically available in a retirement plan so IRA fees don’t become a deal-breaker.
• Leverage your Expertise: Enhance client satisfaction and trust by positioning your services as an indispensable resource for navigating rollovers, investments, and tax-planning. As workers and retirees seek clarity and control over their retirement savings, advisors are uniquely positioned to guide them through this transition.

Empower Your Clients, Grow Your Business

Partnering with a specialized IRA service provider, like IRALOGIX, allows you to access an IRA program on an advanced digital platform that provides the investments, fees and features retirement savers need, while enabling you to scale your business effectively. Our white-labeled platform allows firms to design and brand an IRA product that integrates with the firm’s existing systems architecture. We also provide full IRA administration, a streamlined enrollment process, access to strategic partnerships, compliance support, and customer care—all designed to enhance the client experience and optimize outcomes.

Unlock the potential of IRA rollovers to enhance and grow your revenue and service offerings. Contact IRALOGIX to learn more about how we can support you in delivering tailored rollover solutions that drive client success and business growth.