The Mutual Fund Store Launches Initiative To Boost Retirement Education And Preparedness

OVERLAND PARK, Kan., June 9, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The Mutual Fund Store, a collective system of Registered Investment Advisors (RIA) with more than 100 offices nationwide, announces a new initiative to help hardworking Americans establish a financial plan for retirement. To support their goal of reaching one million Americans, the firm is giving away one-year memberships to its Smart401K service, which provides personalized investment advice to 401(k) plan participants.

"The 401(k) plan is America's most popular savings vehicle and can be an extremely valuable tool for funding an investor's retirement," said Scott Holsopple, Managing Director of Retirement Solutions with The Mutual Fund Store. "That being said, the fact that so many people in this country struggle to plan for and afford retirement indicates that there is room for better education and unbiased professional advice. Our Smart401K offering provides plan participants with specific recommendations on the funds in their individual plans to help them meet their retirement needs."

Despite the fact that so many Americans have access to workplace retirement plans, many are still feeling unprepared for retirement. According to recent research by Allianz Life Insurance, 61 percent of all respondents reported that they are more scared of outliving their assets than of dying, and research conducted by Cerulli Associates found 60 percent of those aged 55 and older said they think they have too little savings to retire. Based on our calculations regarding national averages for 401(k) balances, living expenses, social security and other factors, the average 65-year-old American investor could potentially face a retirement savings gap of roughly $230,000. And finally, 34 percent of people surveyed by Charles Schwab said that deciding how to invest in their 401(k) is causing them a lot of stress.

Smart401K offers online advice and support to help employees manage employer-sponsored investment vehicles including 401(k), 403(b), Thrift Savings Plan, 457 and small business retirement plans. In addition to advice tailored to their own individual retirement plans, Smart401K clients also gain access to a dedicated team of advisors to provide one-on-one guidance, as well as valuable tools including savings calculators and information resources. Smart401k recently partnered with Brightscope, an independent provider of retirement plan ratings and investment analytics, to improve the client experience by delivering fund lineup data to help plan participants make better-informed choices about their retirement plans.

"Getting retirement right is the most significant challenge most people will ever confront and many are understandably frightened," said John Bunch, CEO of The Mutual Fund Store. "By providing free access to Smart401K we hope to help a million Americans realize what they can do today to create a better tomorrow for themselves and their families."

Effective through July 31st, the Smart401K service is available for free for one year. To learn more and enroll in a complimentary annual membership, visit www.smart401K.com and sign up using the promotional code "FREE401K."

About Smart401K
Smart401K is a web-based investment advisory service providing unbiased recommendations to help people invest in employer-sponsored retirement plans. Smart401K provides service to nearly 11,000 clients who collectively have more than $2 billion in assets (as of 12/31/2013). Plan participants receive personalized, fund-specific investment recommendations and the support of professional investment advisors available to discuss all investment questions. Based in Overland Park, KS, Smart401K is online at www.smart401K.com and on the blogosphere at http://blog.smart401K.com.  You can access a free guide, Six Ways to Take Charge of Your Retirement Investment, from http://site.smart401k.com/Retirement-Investing-Ways-to-Take-Charge.

About The Mutual Fund Store
The Mutual Fund Store, is a collective system of RIAs with more than 100 offices nationwide (as of 12/31/2013) that builds and manages customized portfolios of mutual funds to help clients achieve their long-term financial goals. The company was founded in 1996 on the principle that every investor has the right to a financial advisor who acts in their best interests.

The Mutual Fund Store's advisors create diversified portfolios using their expertise as well as in-house research from The Mutual Fund Research Center®, which tracks the long-term records of more than 25,000 funds and their managers in order to help advisors identify the ideal portfolio selections for each client.

The Mutual Fund Store offers a variety of resources for investment education, including "The Mutual Fund Show," a nationally syndicated radio program that airs in more than 65 markets. For more information, please visit www.mutualfundstore.com.

The Mutual Fund Store and Smart401K are separate but affiliated companies. Each entity is its own separate entity that provides services for its client independent from the other. Prospects or clients may directly retain the services of The Mutual Fund Store.

Media Contact:
Jami Schlicher
Jennifer Connelly Public Relations 
973-850-7309
[email protected]

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SOURCE The Mutual Fund Store