Guardian and mPower to Bring Online Investment Advice to Small Businesses; Service Offering Features Payment Flexibility and Ease of Execution.Business/Technology EditorsSAN FRANCISCO/NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 17, 2001 Guardian, the Guardian, The formerly The Manchester Guardian Influential newspaper published in London and Manchester, Eng., considered one of Britain's best papers. nation's fourth largest mutual life insurance company, and mPower, a leading online investment advisory service, have signed an agreement to provide mPower's service to Guardian's retirement plan clients, principally in the emerging business market. Guardian rolled out mPower's investment advisory service to its own 8,000 employees last month. In addition to providing the service as an employer-paid benefit, Guardian and mPower are offering clients the option to have employees pay for the service with their personal credit cards. This will allow smaller businesses to give their employees access to Wall Street-quality investment advice. Additionally, because Guardian's offering of the mPower service includes instant transaction capability, users will be able to rebalance their retirement portfolios to match the advice they receive with just a click of a button. This is accomplished through links from mPower's Internet servers to Guardian's Sungard Omni Plus record-keeping system. "We are very pleased to add mPower's investment advice service to the comprehensive retirement plan services we offer to companies in the emerging business market," said Dennis Mosticchio, vice President and head of Guardian's retirement plan business. "With so many individuals counting on their employers' plans to fund their retirement, we think it is essential that everyone, regardless of the size of their account balance, have access to high quality, objective investment advice." mPower's alliance with Guardian means that participants in Guardian-managed plans will have seamless access to mPower's service, with important information such as plan rules, contributions, and portfolio balances pre-populated on each participants personal web page. mPower also provides a comprehensive set of interactive educational tools and programs to help participants better understand the fundamentals of investing and managing their retirement savings. mPower helps its users stay on track with rebalancing Rebalancing The process of realigning the weightings of one's portfolio of assets. Notes: For example, if your portfolio's proportion of stock has grown too large for your intended assets weightings and risk tolerance, you might rebalance by selling some stock and putting reminders, market alerts and commentary from the company's staff of mutual fund analysts and its chief investment officer, Scott Lummer. "All of us need sound financial advice and extra support to help us stay on track in times of great market fluctuation," said Lummer. About mPower.com, Inc. Founded in 1995, mPower Advisors, L.L.C., (http://www.mpower.com), 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 , was the first to offer affordable and objective online investment advice to defined-contribution plan Defined-Contribution Plan A retirement plan wherein a certain amount or percentage of money is set aside each year for the benefit of the employee. There are restrictions as to when and how you can withdraw these funds without penalties. participants, and remains a leading provider in this field. mPower's website also offers award-winning investment education information to help individual investors learn more about defined contribution plans Defined contribution plan A pension plan whose sponsor is responsible only for making specified contributions into the plan on behalf of qualifying participants. Related: Defined benefit plan , including the 401k, 457 and 403(b) plans, and Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs). About Guardian With $32.4 billion in assets as of December 31, 2000, The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America (GLICOA) is a Fortune 1000 company founded in 1860 in New York, New York. It is the fourth largest mutual life insurance company in the United States of America. , New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of , is the fourth largest mutual life insurance company in the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. . Founded in 1860, Guardian is listed among Fortune Magazine's top 500 businesses and was ranked sixth on Fortune's 2001 "Most Admired" life and health insurers list. With 6,000 employees, over 2,600 financial representatives and 98 agencies nationwide, Guardian protects individuals, businesses and their employees with life, disability, health and dental insurance Dental insurance is insurance designed to pay the costs associated with dental care. Dental insurance pays a portion of the bills from dentists, hospitals, and other providers of dental services. products, 401(k), mutual fund and annuity investment products, and trust services. Guardian is an equal opportunity employer equal opportunity employer An employer or enterprise that does not discriminate against a job candidate, or subject him/her to adverse exclusionary criteria, based on race, sex, religion, or national origin. See Equal employment opportunity. . More information on Guardian can be obtained at: www.glic.com. |
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