American Express Retirement Services Launches Comprehensive Advice and Guidance Platform, Powered by Morningstar.Business Editors/Finance Writers MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 2, 2003 Clients to give participants access to investment planning services via the web, telephone and in person American Express American Express (NYSE: AXP), sometimes known as "AmEx" or "Amex", is a diversified global financial services company, headquartered in New York City. The company is best known for its credit card, charge card and traveler's cheque businesses. Retirement Services announced today the launch of its retirement plan advice and guidance platform. The new platform combines the power of the Morningstar(R) Enterprise Advice Solution(SM), a comprehensive set of retirement plan advice services, with American Express Financial Advisors, one of the most dynamic networks of personal, face-to-face financial educators in the industry. Retirement plan sponsors now have the opportunity to provide plan participants Plan participants Employees or other beneficiaries who are eligible to receive benefits from a company's employee benefit plan. access to Morningstar Advice services via three different channels: the web, in person and over the telephone. This multi-faceted platform also marks the first time the Morningstar Advice Call Center(SM) tool has been made available. American Express Retirement Services clients in the initial implementation include: Air Liquide
According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Rusty Field, vice president of American Express Financial Education and Planning Services, "Our own research(a) tells us that more than half of the people working for companies with 401(k) retirement plans would like assistance in deciding where to put money in the plan, and more than one third said their need for advice has increased with the recent market volatility. The study also found that a majority of people prefer personal interaction (in-person or on the phone) to online or paper-based forms of guidance or advice. All this has driven us to create this umbrella approach that offers an advice or guidance solution for everyone, meeting both plan sponsor and participant demand." "Multiple-channel retirement advice is the wave of the future. American Express is giving employers what they have been asking for--a variety of ways in which to help their employees successfully meet their goals," said John Rekenthaler, president of Morningstar Associates, LLC (Logical Link Control) See "LANs" under data link protocol. LLC - Logical Link Control . "Through our online and call center tools, Morningstar Associates is ready to serve investors in today's rapidly changing marketplace." "The top reasons plan sponsors give for not offering their participants investment help has been the cost and fiduciary concerns," said Field. "We believe our approach effectively removes these barriers, offering our clients guidance-level service at no cost. Additionally, our arrangement is designed to be consistent with recent Department of Labor direction giving plan sponsors more peace of mind while giving participants access to retirement planning Retirement financial planning refers to a collection of systems, methods, and processes which, in their aggregate, support a family unit's (client's) desire to achieve a state of financial independence, such that the need to be gainfully employed is optional. help with the human interaction many are seeking." About Morningstar, Inc. and Morningstar Associates, LLC Morningstar, Inc. is a leading global investment research firm that provides an extensive line of print, software, and web-based products and services for individuals, financial advisors and institutions. Morningstar is a valued source of investment information and analysis for stocks, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds Exchange-traded funds (or ETFs) are Open Ended investment companies that can be traded at any time throughout the course of the day. Typically, ETFs try to replicate a stock market index such as the S&P 500 (e.g. , closed-end funds Closed-end fund An investment company that issues shares like any other corporation and usually does not redeem its shares. A publicly traded fund sold on stock exchanges or over the counter that may trade above or below its net asset value. Related: Open-end fund. , separate accounts, 529 plans, and variable annuities Variable annuities Investment contracts whose issuer pays a periodic amount linked to the investment performance of an underlying portfolio. . The Morningstar(R) Enterprise Advice Solution(SM) is provided by Morningstar Associates, LLC, a registered investment advisor Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) is a designation obtainable in the United States by an individual who has registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission or state regulatory agency (where the primary business is situated or multiple States in some cases) in and a wholly owned subsidiary Wholly Owned Subsidiary A subsidiary whose parent company owns 100% of its common stock. Notes: In other words, the parent company owns the company outright and there are no minority owners. of Morningstar, Inc. The financial data and methodology used in the Enterprise Advice Solution are proprietary to Morningstar, Inc., and/or Morningstar Associates, LLC. About American Express Retirement Services American Express Retirement Services, a service group of American Express Financial Advisors, is a provider of services for defined contribution and 401(k) plans with total combined assets of more than $27 billion and a participant base of more than 1 million as of June 30, 2003. Based in Minneapolis, it provides corporations, unions and municipalities nationwide with a complete package of financial education, recordkeeping and trustee services for qualified retirement plans. For more information on American Express Retirement Services, visit www.americanexpress.com/sponsors. American Express Retirement Services' Financial Education & Planning Services group delivers comprehensive financial education programs to organizations ranging from small businesses to Fortune 500 corporations. They provide web, phone, print and face-to-face education, guidance and advice to more than two million employees nationwide. American Express Retirement Services is a service group of American Express Financial Advisors, provider of financial advisory services advisory services advisory services provided to the public, in their capacity as owners and managers of animals, are an important part of veterinary science. They may be provided by government bureaux, by commercial companies who deal in pharmaceuticals or animals or animal and investment programs for more than 2.3 million clients. They have helped people with their financial goals for more than 100 years. American Express Financial Advisors provides an array of financial products and services to individuals and businesses across the country through the personal service of more than 10,000 financial advisors. More than 4,500 of these advisors have experience providing financial education in the workplace. Financial advisors with American Express Financial Advisors hold more professional designations than any other sales force in the industry. Registered investments and financial planning Financial planning Evaluating the investing and financing options available to a firm. Planning includes attempting to make optimal decisions, projecting the consequences of these decisions for the firm in the form of a financial plan, and then comparing future performance against services are offered through American Express Financial Advisors Inc., Member NASD NASD See: National Association of Securities Dealers NASD See National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD). . American Express Company is separate from American Express Financial Advisors Inc. and is not a broker-dealer. Retirement plan and trust related services are offered through American Express Trust Company. (a) November 2002 American Express Retirement Services Omnibus omnibus: see bus. Survey on Financial Stress and Investment Advice. BAI n. 1. a language spoken in the Dali region of Yunnan. Noun 1. Bai - the Tibeto-Burman language spoken in the Dali region of Yunnan Baic Global conducted the telephone survey of nationally representative households receiving a total of 756 qualified consumer responses: 493 were currently enrolled in a company sponsored retirement plan, and 263 had employers that offered a retirement plan but were not currently participating in the plan. American Express Global Marketplace Insights research group provided data analysis and findings. |
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