Contributor: SunGard Viewpoint

Greg Clark, executive vice president of SunGard's wealth and retirement services business What are the challenges retirement plan providers are facing today? Retirement providers and record keepers have experienced a significant amount of margin compression within their businesses. Since the financial crisis, they’ve seen a further decline in assets due to the decumulation phase as more baby boomers retire, creating pressure on fee revenues. In addition, regulatory reporting such as fee disclosure, and the escalating cost of infrastructure, are also key challenges. As these add cost to their operations, plan providers are realizing that the back office, participant record keeping, and sponsor reporting are commoditized business operations that don’t really drive the additional revenue they need. They know they must start looking at alternative channels and business models to deliver competitive services by focusing on higher-value client servicing, such as mobile apps, customer web portals and other front-office technologies.... read more