The presentation discussed industry best practices and trends from our recently completed 2013 DC Plan Participant Website Audit and also contained findings from the 2013 DC Plan Participant Survey. The survey polled approximately 1000 plan participants, asking questions about the digital experience they have with their retirement plan provider(s). CI also took a look at what’s next for the industry, focusing on the evolution of financial advice and guidance and mobile innovation.

1. BEST-IN-CLASS FOR THE ONLINE
DC PLAN PARTICIPANT EXPERIENCE
A COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS
NOVEMBER 2013
Copyright 2013 Corporate Insight, inc.

2. ABOUT CORPORATE INSIGHT
Corporate Insight provides competitive intelligence and user experience research to the nation’s leading financial
institutions. For over 20 years, the firm has tracked technological developments in the financial services industry,
identifying best practices in online banking and investing, online insurance, mobile finance, active trading
platforms, social media and other emerging areas. There are no assumptions in Corporate Insight’s work – we use
live accounts at all of the firms we research, providing our clients with unparalleled, unbiased intelligence on the
competition.
Media Inquiries
Corporate Insight welcomes the opportunity to speak with the media. If you are interested in citing our research or
would like to schedule an interview with one of our analysts, please contact Intermarket Communications at 212888-6115 or corporateinsight@intermarket.com.
Connect With Us
JAMES MCGOVERN
Vice President
Consulting Services
646-454-2667
jmcgovern@corporateinsight.com
2

3. TABLE OF CONTENTS
• Introduction
• Building a Best-In-Class Online Experience
o
Know your users
 Findings from our 2013 DC Plan Participant Survey
o
Understand your competitors
 Findings from our 2013 DC Plan Participant Website Audit
• What is Next?
• Corporate Insight Thought Leadership
• Contact The Author
3

4. INTRODUCTION
4

5. CORPORATE INSIGHT’S RETIREMENT RESEARCH
• Began research on DC participant Web experience in 2006
o Custom DC Plan Participant Website Audit 2006 and 2010
o Plan Sponsor Website Audit 2007 and 2010
• Launched Retirement Plan Monitor research service in 2012
5

6. ABOUT THE DC PLAN PARTICIPANT WEBSITE AUDIT
For over 20 years, Corporate Insight has closely monitored and analyzed the online
customer experience offered by financial services firms. The DC Plan Participant
Audit helps our clients understand the strengths and weaknesses of their DC plan
participant website versus key competitors. The Audit also offers actionable
recommendations to close competitive gaps and improve the client firm’s plan
participant site.
AUDIT METHODOLOGY
The DC Plan Participant Website Audit framework consists of five categories,
23 sub-categories and over 125 attributes covering all facets of the online
plan participant experience. The five categories assessed are:
• Account Information
• Account Servicing
• Planning, Advice & Education
• Quotes & Research
• Transactions
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7. AUDIT INCORPORATES FEEDBACK FROM DC PLAN SITE USERS
• CI surveyed 1,000 DC plan site users to understand what they
want from their plan site
• Survey data powers weighted scores used to determine the
importance of Audit categories, sub-categories and attributes
• Weights can be tailored based on preferred demographic
• Survey data used to create DC Plan Participant Survey Report
7

8. DC PLAN PARTICIPANT WEBSITE AUDIT – WHAT YOU RECEIVE
AUDIT REPORT – Customized report that identifies your plan participant website’s
strengths and weaknesses against key competitors. The report includes weighted scores for
your site and all competitor sites that reflect importance ratings from our DC Plan Participant
Survey. We also provide dozens of gap analysis charts and hundreds of specific, tailored
recommendations to help you improve your plan participant website.
DC PLAN PARTICIPANT SURVEY REPORT – As part of the Audit, we surveyed nearly
1,000 participant website users in June 2013 to understand how they utilize their provider’s
website and mobile platforms and what features they value most. This report summarizes
the results of this research and how attitudes and behavior differ by such demographic
factors as age, gender and plan assets.
DC PLAN PARTICIPANT SURVEY DATA – Audit purchasers also receive the raw plan
participant survey data we compiled focusing on website and mobile usage, customer
satisfaction and more.
To learn more about our DC Plan Participant Website Audit,
please contact James McGovern, Vice President, Consulting Services,
at 646-454-8667 or jmcgovern@corporateinsight.com.
8

9. BUILDING A BEST-IN-CLASS
ONLINE EXPERIENCE
• Know Your Users
• Understand Your Competitors
9

10. Know Your Users
Findings From Our 2013 DC Plan Participant Survey
10

11. THE WEBSITE MATTERS TO USERS…
When you think of where to go to monitor your retirement plan balance and
activity, you think of?
2% 1%
Logging onto the plan provider’s
website and reviewing real-time data
9%
Opening your mailed statement and
reviewing periodic data
Logging onto the plan provider’s mobile
app and reviewing real-time data
Calling customer service to speak with a
representative
88%
11

12. AND IT MATTERS TO YOUR BUSINESS TOO!
Likelihood to Roll Over by Satisfaction Level with Provider Website
•
Compared to our total survey sample,
participants who are extremely
satisfied with their provider’s website
are 18% more likely to roll over their
plan assets to an IRA with that firm
12

13. TOP WEBSITE ATTRIBUTES
ACCOUNT INFORMATION DOMINATES
Eight of the Top Fifteen Most Important Website Attributes
Relate to Account Information
See your account balance
4
Importance
1
Access latest quarterly statement
5
View account positions
8
Transaction confirmations
9
Access quarterly statements for last year
12 Access account history for past 180 days
14 Account history available since enrollment
15 Positions are updated daily
13

14. MEN AND WOMEN USE SITE SOMEWHAT DIFFERENTLY
Main Difference in Website Utilization Per Gender
• Men are more likely to research investments and exchange plan dollars
between funds
Female
Male
17%
Performed research on available funds
32%
23%
Exchange between investment funds
41%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
14

15. OLDER USERS TEND TO LOG IN MORE OFTEN
Frequency of Logging Into a
Plan Website by Age Group
Age
60+
40 - 59
<40 00
1+/Month
69%
64%
59%
15

16. OLDER USERS TRACK THEIR ACCOUNTS MORE CLOSELY
Percentage of Respondents Who Performed Activity on Participant Site in Past 12 Months
Age Group
60+
< 40
88%
Checked plan balance
81%
74%
Reviewed account / fund performance
65%
65%
58%
Viewed / downloaded statement
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
15

17. OLDER USERS ARE MORE LIKELY TO BE MOVING MONEY AROUND
Percentage of Respondents Who Performed Activity on Participant Site in Past 12 Months
Age Group
60+
< 40
36%
Exchange between Funds
22%
33%
Change Allocation
31%
20%
Withdraw Money from Plan
3%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
16

18. YOUNGER USERS ARE MORE LIKELY TO USE PLANNING, EDUCATION
& MOBILE
Percentage of Respondents Who Performed Activity on Participant Site in Past 12 Months
Age Group
60+
< 40
23%
Use Site Tools & Calculators
27%
10%
Refer to Educational Content
15%
3%
Use Mobile App to Access Account
8%
0%
10%
20%
30%
17

19. AREAS OF INTEREST FOR THOSE UNDER 40 YEARS OLD
1. Estimate of retirement funds needed
Planning
Tools
2. Recommend asset allocation changes
3. Financial tools covering basic decisions
4. Plan for multiple goals in retirement
5. Actionable guidance on savings rate
Educational
Content
1. Retirement savings as well as investing strategies
2. Understand non-retirement resources from the provider
3. Basic tools / materials available pre-login
19

20. Understand Your Competitors
Findings From Our 2013 DC Plan Participant Website Audit
20

21. WHAT IS THE WEBSITE AUDIT?
IT IS a benchmarking analysis
against your key competitors
It is NOT like the
government version
•
Identify strengths and weaknesses
•
Weighted rankings of attributes
•
Identifies high value enhancements
•
Helps prioritize platform development
21

22. A MORE DETAILED VIEW OF OUR AUDIT FRAMEWORK
22

23. COMPETITOR SET OF THE CURRENT WEBSITE AUDIT
Graded Ten Leading DC Plan Participant Sites Using Live Accounts
23

24. KEY AREAS OF INTEREST TO PARTICIPANTS
Plan Overview
1. View account balance
Statements
2. Rate of return
1. Most recent quarterly
statement
3. Performance chart for
account
2. Quarterly Statements
for past year
4. Current contribution &
match
3. Statements since
enrollment into plan
Account History
1. Transaction confirms
2. Minimum of transaction
history for last 180 days
3. All history since
enrollment into plan
5. Retirement income
forecast
6. Allocation pie chart
24

25. CORE ACCOUNT INFO SCORES FALL WELL SHORT OF EXCELLENT
History, Statements & Plan Overview
Account History
Vanguard (3.57)
Great West (3.55)
Fidelity (3.23)
Total Score
Account Statements
Great West (3.55)
Great West (3.75)
Vanguard (3.42)
JP Morgan (3.66)
Merrill Lynch (3.22)
Mercer (3.22)
Plan Overview
1 = Poor
2 = Fair
3 = Good
4 = Excellent
Merrill Lynch (3.54)
Vanguard (3.54)
AON Hewitt (3.47)
25

26. ACCOUNT HISTORY KEY FINDINGS
Account History
Vanguard (3.57)
Great West (3.55)
Fidelity (3.23)
Industry Average = 3.05 / 4.0
• Half offer less than two years of
searchable account history
• History search, sort and filter
functionality limited
• Data display tends to be simplistic
1 = Poor
2 = Fair
3 = Good
4 = Excellent
Source: 2013 Corporate Insight Plan Participant Website Audit
26

27. VANGUARD IS ABOVE AVERAGE IN
NEARLY ALL ACCOUNT HISTORY ATTRIBUTES
Competitors are Better
Vanguard is Better
Data Display
Transaction Descr.
Data Download/Export
Printability
Navigation / Integration
Depth of Archive
No print link
Transaction Types Avail.
Search, Filter, Sort
Account History Gap Analysis – Vanguard vs. Competitors
27

28. GREAT WEST ALSO CONSISTENTLY OUTPERFORMS
Competitors are Better
Great West is Better
Data Display
Transaction Descr.
Data Download/Export
Printability
Navigation / Integration
Three year
archive
Depth of Archive
Transaction Types Avail.
Search, Filter, Sort
Account History Gap Analysis – Great West vs. Competitors
28

29. ACCOUNT HISTORY BEST PRACTICES – GREAT WEST
A Summary overview
offers combined
figures for each
transaction type within
a given time period
29

30. ACCOUNT HISTORY BEST PRACTICES – GREAT WEST
Clicking on a particular
transaction reveals
additional level of detail
30

31. ACCOUNT HISTORY BEST PRACTICES – VANGUARD
Users can access
seven years of
transaction history
31

32. ACCOUNT HISTORY BEST PRACTICES – VANGUARD
Users can view
transactions by
fund, source or
both…
…and sort
transactions by
date, description
or fund name
32

33. ACCOUNT HISTORY BEST PRACTICES – VANGUARD
Fly-out menu gives
users one-click access
to other key site
functions
Easy access
to related
features
33

34. TO DELIVER A BEST-IN-CLASS ACCOUNT HISTORY…
1.
Offer a deep archive, preferably for full life of the account
2.
Allow users to filter history by fund, source and custom time period
3.
Provide dynamic data sorting
4.
Let users click on a transaction to reveal additional details
34

35. ACCOUNT STATEMENTS KEY FINDINGS
Account Statements
Great West (3.75)
JP Morgan (3.66)
Mercer (3.22)
Industry Average = 3.1 / 4.0
1 = Poor
2 = Fair
3 = Good
4 = Excellent
Source: 2013 Corporate Insight Plan Participant Website Audit
• Most firms only offer two-year archive
o Sixty-seven percent of respondents said
that access to ALL statements online was
“very” or “extremely important”
o Young participants prefer digital over
paper
• A few sites lack statements in PDF
35

36. ACCOUNT STATEMENTS BEST PRACTICES – GREAT WEST
Users have access to five-year
statement archive, plus online
access to mailing inserts
36

37. ACCOUNT STATEMENTS BEST PRACTICES – GREAT WEST
“On Demand”
statements can be
generated and
accessed in PDF
format for easy
downloading
37

38. ACCOUNT STATEMENTS BEST PRACTICES – JP MORGAN
38

39. ACCOUNT STATEMENTS BEST PRACTICES – JP MORGAN
39

40. TO DELIVER A BEST-IN-CLASS ACCOUNT STATEMENTS FEATURE…
1.
Offer a deep archive, preferably for full life of the account
2.
Organize statements by year
3.
Allow users to create custom statement for desired period
4.
Present statements in PDF
5.
Provide easy access to statement inserts
40

41. PLAN OVERVIEW KEY FINDINGS
Plan Overview
Merrill Lynch (3.54)
Vanguard (3.54)
Aon Hewitt (3.47)
Industry Average = 3.22 / 4.0
• Audit’s most important sub-category
• Homepage & related features/info
o Plan balance/fund balance
o Asset allocation
o Performance
1 = Poor
2 = Fair
3 = Good
4 = Excellent
Source: 2013 Corporate Insight Plan Participant Website Audit
o Current contribution
o Retirement Income projection
41

42. PLAN OVERVIEW BEST PRACTICES – MERRILL LYNCH
Account Summary page offers useful
account overview data with click-toreveal access to more in-depth info
42

43. PLAN OVERVIEW BEST PRACTICES – MERRILL LYNCH
Balances are
available by
investment,
source or asset
class, with the
option to display a
combined view
43

44. PLAN OVERVIEW BEST PRACTICES – VANGUARD
Intra-page tabs provide
quick access to
overview information
and key site features
Combined balance information
offered for multiple plans and
aggregated external accounts
44

45. PLAN OVERVIEW BEST PRACTICES – VANGUARD
Access to personalized
rate of return for plan
as well as individual
funds
Month-by-month
detailed
performance data
45

46. PLAN OVERVIEW BEST PRACTICES – AON HEWITT
Interactive graph allows users
to compare up to three
individual funds against
personalized rate of return
46

47. PLAN OVERVIEW BEST PRACTICES – AON HEWITT
Compare current asset mix
to model mix and view the
impact on projected balance
Links are offered to apply
new investment mix
47

48. TO DELIVER A BEST-IN-CLASS PLAN OVERVIEW FEATURE…
• Put key metrics up front, like plan value and YTD performance
• Allow users to drill down into the details
• Use graphics to communicate performance
• Offer links to key features like recent statements
48

49. WHAT IS NEXT?
49

50. WHAT IS NEXT?
Advice & Guidance
Next-Gen Advice
Mobile
50

51. ADVICE AND GUIDANCE
2013 Financial Advice Survey
• Americans need financial
guidance, but many participants
opt to retrieve it from places
other than their DC plan sites,
especially those that are between
the ages of 18 and 34 and 55 and
64, respectively.
51

52. MANY FIRMS LACK EDUCATION AND PLANNING RESOURCES
Planning, Advice & Education
Category Scores
Multi-Goal Planning Tools
Sub-Category Scores
Fidelity
Fidelity
T. Rowe Price
Great West
Vanguard
T. Rowe Price
0
1
2
3
4
Planning, Advice & Education
Industry Average = 2.5 / 4.0
1
2
3
4
Multi-Goal Planning Tools
Industry Average = 2.13 / 4.0
1 = Poor
3 = Good
Source: 2013 Corporate Insight Plan Participant Website Audit
0
2 = Fair
4 = Excellent
52

53. FIDELITY’S PORTFOLIO REVIEW IS THE BEST IN CLASS
Portfolio Review tool creates
investment strategies to help
users meet specific goals
The tool incorporates Fidelity
accounts as well as accounts
held outside the firm
53

54. PLANNING, ADVICE AND EDUCATION BEST PRACTICES – FIDELITY
Portfolio Review offers actual
fund recommendations to
help achieve desired goal
Users can select all
available funds or Fidelity
funds only
54

55. TO DELIVER BEST-IN-CLASS PLANNING AND EDUCATION
• Offer a good mix of plan-specific calculators and in-depth planning tools
• Organize your resources effectively
• Don’t just address retirement – healthcare expenses too!
55

56. NEXT-GEN INVESTING ADVICE
56

57. STEVE JOBS LIVES ON
57

58. MOBILE IS REACHING A TIPPING POINT
58

59. GOOD NEWS: PROVIDERS OFFER MOBILE
Mobile Platform Support Among Retirement Plan Monitor Firms As of October 2013
Mobile Optimized Site
iPhone App
iPad App
Android Phone App
Android Tablet App
59%
47%
41%
12%
0%
59

60. BAD NEWS: PARTICIPANTS ARE UNAWARE
Does your provider allow access to your account via a mobile device?
If yes, have you accessed your plan via this device in the past 12 months?
I don't know,
64%
Yes,
35%
Yes,
23%
No,
65%
No,
13%
60

61. AND MOBILE ACTIVITIES REFLECT LIMITS OF TODAY’S OFFERINGS
Retirement Plan Activities Using Mobile
Conducted research on a plan investment
10%
Made a transaction (e.g., rebalanced my
account, changed my contribution rate, etc.)
9%
Scheduled a guidance consultation
2%
Completed an investment risk tolerance
profile
2%
Viewed educational content like a planning
tool or video about saving for retirement
2%
Enrolled in my plan
2%
Sent or received a text message to/from
customer service
1%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
61

62. MOBILE CLOSING THOUGHTS
• Mobile must be part of your strategy
• Participant knowledge is very poor – you must change this
• You can improve overall participant engagement using mobile,
especially with young people
• Do not neglect the tablet
62

63. FINAL THOUGHTS
• Industry gets the basics of account information right…
• But it could do much more to drive engagement…
• Particularly with younger participants…
• Better planning and education is one part of the solution…
• Longer term, mobile will be as well
63

64. CORPORATE INSIGHT THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
Next-Generation Investing: Financial Startups and the Future of Financial Advice
CI tracks over 100 startups that covers a wide range of new ideas across financial advice and investing. This
study will focus on each idea, analyze compares them to what established financial institutions offer and
examine the potential impact on the industry. Download the study preview!
Social Media Trends: Annuity and Life Insurance
This presentation analyzes the current social media initiatives and promotions undertaken by leading insurers,
highlights key social media findings and trends across the insurance industry, and offer tips for insurers looking
to bolster their social presence.
Tablet-Friendly Web Design: Best Practices for Financial Services
The study examines the tablet-friendly website features provided by four leading firms across financial services
and provides recommendations for financial services firms building tablet-optimized websites.
Facebook Marketing Campaigns - Social Media Initiatives in the Insurance Industry
This slide deck highlights some of the engaging Facebook marketing campaigns initiated by P&C Insurance
Monitor firms this year and offers a few Facebook marketing tips for insurers.
2013 Mobile Finance Trends and Innovations
This slide deck includes commentary on mobile developments, key takeaways for financial services firms and
thoughts on what’s next for mobile finance.
64

65. CONTACT THE AUTHOR
James McGovern
Vice President
Consulting Services
James McGovern is head of CI’s Consulting Services. He leads a
team of analysts that provides highly customized research and
competitive intelligence to the nation’s leading financial
institutions.
Recent consulting engagements have included website and mobile
capabilities benchmarking projects, Website Audits, industry trend
analysis, business strategy projects, mystery shop work, pricing
analysis, and user testing and heuristic reviews, among others.
Check out our consulting case studies to learn more about our
latest projects and strategic engagements.
CONTACT JAMES:
646-454-2667
jmcgovern@CorporateInsight.com | LinkedIn
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