PLANADVISER - March/April 2020 - 13

ON THE MOVE
➜ The Charles Schwab
Corp. will acquire
Wasmer, Schroeder &
Co. LLC, an independent
investment manager of
fixed-income separately
managed accounts with
$10.5 billion in assets
under management,
adding to Schwab's
current $90 billion in such
accounts.
Mind-Body Wellness
Employers aim to improve workers' financial well-being
LORNA Sabbia, head of retirement and
personal wealth solutions for Bank of
America, says, when employees who feel
financially well are compared with those
who feel less well, a mix of short- and longterm
factors have contributed directly to
either feeling.
For example, when compared with
employees who are not financially well,
those who are are more apt to say they
can effectively manage their day-to-day
expenses. They are more apt to say their
savings for retirement are on track and
that they are more able to pay their bills
and save for future goals at the same time.
Given that most of Americans' income
comes from the workplace, the availability
of generous and well-designed programs
that help address employees' overall financial
situation can have a direct impact
on how well these people feel, Sabbia
explains. She points to internal polling
data, published in Bank of America's " 2019
Workplace Benefits Report, " showing that
employers are embracing this fact, as 53%
reported offering some type of financial
wellness program last year, compared
with 24% in 2015.
Sabbia notes three primary drivers
of employee financial stress that affect
even those who otherwise feel secure in
their employment and financial situation.
These are, first, employees' potential
inability to manage health care costs;
second, their outside obligations as a caregiver,
either for children, a spouse, aging
parents or others; and their issues arising
from a workplace insensitive to diversity
and inclusion.
According to the Bank of America
analysis, current health care expenses
are not employees' only concern on those
fronts. Medicare may cover only up to 65%
of certain employee medical costs, the
report advises, so they will need to plan
for paying future health care premiums
and potentially significant out-of-pocket
costs. Given this, one obvious benefit to
explore in the workplace is health savings
accounts (HSAs), as well as health-care
cost-management training and support.
At a higher level, experts agree, financial
wellness programs are most effective
when the different points of focus are carefully
coordinated-and when employees
see that their employers genuinely care
about their financial well-being.
-John Manganaro
➜ Leafhouse Financial
named Chad Brown as
its chief operating officer
(COO). Brown will lead
company alignment and
development. He has
over 20 years of experience
with Nationwide
Financial, Transamerica
and Ascensus.
➜ Ryan Chieffo has
been named director of
government and regulatory
affairs for Standard
Insurance Co. He will
maintain a collaborative
relationship with regulators
and industry and
trade associations.
➜ Andrew Junkin,
president of Wilshire
Consulting since 2015,
has resigned, and the
company has promoted
Jason Schwarz to COO.
Schwarz will oversee
Wilshire's analytics,
consulting, funds
management and
private markets.
Art by Andrea D'Aquino
planadviser.com March-April 2020 | 13
➜
http://www.planadviser.com
PLANADVISER - March/April 2020

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