EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS FINALISTS

Innovative Firms

Resources Investment Advisors

Understanding the public’s need for a certain amount of hand-holding when it comes to comprehending and embracing financial planning, Resources Investment Advisors, an aggregator of retirement-focused practices, launched Financial Elements in 2018. The program, designed for retirement plan sponsors, is a subscription plan available for deployment by Resources’ member practices.

The process begins with voluntary online assessments that plan participants fill out, adding information to data already pulled from payroll files. A four-page report breaks down the results into individually relevant and easy-to-understand topic areas (financial elements) on which to focus: budgeting, emergency funds, debt counseling, retirement planning, college savings and benefits.

An especially innovative aspect of the program is the availability of “financial mentors” to answer on-demand questions that result from the assessments. This staff of professionals, which includes certified financial planners, enrolled agents and paralegals, also partners with debt counselors and legal services.

Plan participants also have an option to enroll in the program’s managed account solution.

“It’s a bridge between the corporate and benefit world of the 401(k) [plan] and individual wealth management,” said Vincent Morris, Resources Investment Advisors’ president.

– Deborah Nason