Visa Selects Financial Engines to Help Take Employees Further in Retirement.Business Editors/High-Tech Writers PALO ALTO Palo Alto, city, California Palo Alto (păl`ō ăl`tō), city (1990 pop. 55,900), Santa Clara co., W Calif.; inc. 1894. Although primarily residential, Palo Alto has aerospace, electronics, and advanced research industries. , Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 2, 2000 Financial Engines(R) today announced that Visa, the world's leading payment brand, is making available the Financial Engines Investment Advisor Investment Advisor 1. A person making investment recommendations in return for a flat fee or percentage of assets managed, known as a commission. 2. For mutual fund companies, it is the individual who has the day-to-day responsibility of investing and monitoring the cash and (SM) service to 4,000 eligible 401(k)-plan participants. Visa is the first in the payment card industry to offer this benefit to employees, which is available immediately and at no cost to employees. "Visa has recognized that its employees need advice to make smart investment decisions and we are glad that Financial Engines will help fill this need," said Jeff Maggioncalda, president and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of Financial Engines. "Visa has demonstrated that it works with and on behalf of its member institutions to leverage best-of-breed technology and we intend to meet the company's high standards as a service provider for Visa's employees." "Visa has always taken a leadership role in providing progressive benefits to our employees, and our relationship with Financial Engines is another example of our commitment to them," said Rick Schmitt, vice president of 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. at Visa International. "Financial Engines' leading-edge and innovative investment advice service will be a valuable enhancement to our Thrift Plan Thrift plan A defined contribution plan in which an employee contributes, usually on a before-tax basis, toward the ultimate benefits that will be provided. The employer usually agrees to match all or a portion of the employee's contributions. ." Available to Visa employees through the company's intranet (or directly via www.financialengines.com), the Advisor service shows the likelihood of reaching retirement goals based upon each employee's personal information. Working with the company's 401(k) service provider, Fidelity Investments Fidelity Investments is a group of privately held companies in the financial services industry. It is made up by two independent but closely cooperating companies, Fidelity Management and Research Corporation (FMR Co. , participant information from the Fidelity recordkeeping systems is integrated with the Advisor service to make it easier for participants to utilize. A powerful simulation engine generates thousands of potential economic scenarios, taking into account numerous variables such as fluctuations in inflation, interest rates, and market returns. Analyzing the employee's entire household portfolio, the Advisor service shows how much income an employee is likely to have in retirement. To improve the forecast, the Advisor service makes specific fund recommendations with respect to the Visa Thrift Plan investment options and shows how these recommendations could impact future retirement outcomes. A February 2000 Forrester Research report projected that improved online advice offerings -- including pre-populated data, simulators, and one-click buying -- will enable 16 million US households to obtain financial advice for the very first time by 2005. About Visa As the "World's Best Way to Pay," Visa is the world's leading payment brand and the largest payment system worldwide with more volume than all other major payment cards combined. Visa plays a pivotal role in advancing new payment products and technologies to benefit its 21,000 member financial institutions and their cardholders. Visa has more than 80 smart card programs in 35 countries and on the Internet, with 23 million Visa chip cards, including 8 million Visa Cash cards. Visa is pioneering SET Secure Electronic Transaction Secure Electronic Transaction (SET) is a standard protocol for securing credit card transactions over insecure networks, specifically, the Internet. SET is not itself a payment system, but rather a set of security protocols and formats that enables users to employ the existing (TM) programs to enable and advance Internet commerce. There are over 970 million Visa, Visa Electron, Interlink INTERLINK - A commercial product comprising hardware and software for file transfer between IBM and VAX computers. , PLUS and Visa Cash cards, which generate more than US$1.5 trillion in annual volume. Visa-branded cards are accepted at over 18 million worldwide locations, including at more than 550,000 ATMs in the Visa Global ATM Network. About Financial Engines Financial Engines provides online investment advice for individual investors and participants in 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 of all sizes. Financial Engines combines financial forecasting technology with the power of the Internet to deliver unbiased, personalized advice through a familiar browser interface. Founded by Economics Nobel Laureate William F. Sharpe, Financial Engines is dedicated to helping individuals make better investment decisions to meet the financial needs of their families. Financial Engines was founded in 1996 and is located in Palo Alto. For more information, visit Financial Engines' web site at www.financialengines.com. Note to Editors: Financial Engines(R) is a registered trademark, and Financial Engines Investment Advisor(SM) is a service mark of Financial Engines, Inc. All other trademarks and service marks are the property of their respective owners. All 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 are provided by Financial Engines Advisors LLC (Logical Link Control) See "LANs" under data link protocol. LLC - Logical Link Control , a federally 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 . |
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