Group Sponsored Financial Education Advisory Programs

Why Dorval & Chorne Financial Advisors?

Our firm works with mid to large size groups including employers, unions, and associations to not only provide online tools and resources, but to create a unique personal financial advisory experience with your members. We offer members the same Quality of Life Planning™ we use with all of our individual clients.

Our experienced Certified Financial Planner™ professionals are able to provide real world, independent advice and guidance, without any inherent conflicts of interest.  There are two main reasons groups select Dorval & Chorne to provide member financial planning and advice – personal attention and independence.

Personal attention means we go beyond seminars, basic literature, website tools, and computer models to directly connect with members at a personal level. Our financial advisors work with your people on both a group basis through seminars and on an individual basis through direct one-on-one interaction. Our advisory contracts make us fiduciaries to your group, which creates accountability for our advice. Our people are accessible through onsite individual meetings, e-mail, and phone calls. The phone numbers are direct to your firm’s primary advisors, not to a 1-800 number call center located on a different continent!

Dorval and Chorne financial advisors are independent which helps eliminate both real and perceived conflicts of interest in working with members.  Our independence is a big reason why your people will trust our advice!

 

Our Services for Employers

Our firm provides customized financial advice and planning programs uniquely designed for each employer who utilizes our services:

•Access to experienced financial advisors to provide personalized analysis and recommendations uniquely designed for your company.

•On demand individual meetings, phone conversations, and/or e-mail interaction with employees to address financial questions or concerns as they come up.

•Participant level asset allocation guidance and education.

•Creation of model portfolios utilizing your specific retirement plan fund options.

•Financial education seminars in a wide array of financial topics (customized for each relationship).

•Internet (intranet) tools and resources including market commentaries and access to the electronic version of Mr. Dorval’s book, Financial Success for the Rest of Us: Reality Based Financial Planning for Mainstream America.

 

Our advisory agreements create a fiduciary standard for our advisors when dealing with your employees.  Many companies will choose not to provide a quality employee financial advice program because the benefits are largely intangible and difficult to quantify.  We believe companies pursuing a long term strategy of excellence incorporating best practices into their culture will decide to offer comprehensive employee financial education and advice that goes far beyond simple investment guidance into financial planning designed to improve employee decision making.  This is a win-win program for everyone involved.

 

Benefits to Employers:

Your employees are feeling financial pressure every day in trying to match limited financial resources with seemingly unlimited financial priorities. Studies have found up to 60% of employees feel moderate to high levels of financial stress. Financial stress impacts your bottom line in the form of absenteeism, distraction, and illness. It is impossible to quantify the costs associated with poor financial health, but studies indicate the cost is substantial and, more often than not, the cost is far greater than the expense of offering a corporate level financial advisory program. The primary benefit to employers in offering a financial advice program is improving the financial health of your employees which can result in improving your bottom line! Some additional benefits may include:

•Potential to reduce fiduciary liability associated with obligations as an ERISA plan sponsor.

•Your Human Resources personnel receive financial questions from employees on a daily basis. Many of these questions involve issues the Benefits Department is not well suited to answer. Instead of spending valuable time dealing with these issues, employees could be referred to us for individual help. This approach may help reduce frustration for both the Benefits Department and your employees.

•Potentially helps increase retirement plan participation rates.

•Helps differentiate your company benefits package in regard to employee retention and recruitment. Studies indicate financial advice programs are a low cost, highly appreciated benefit!

 

 Benefits to Employees:

The benefits for employees are easy to understand:

•Your employees gain a better understanding of the expensive benefit programs (particularly retirement plan offerings) you provide them. Better understanding results in greater appreciation! 

•Employee retirement plan participation rates increase with greater awareness and knowledge—A lack of knowledge is a primary reason employees procrastinate in making important financial decisions.

•Assistance with retirement plan asset allocation and diversification taking into account the person’s unique circumstances (we do not rely on generic computer models!).

•We help employees make better informed financial decisions which helps improve outcomes.

•Creates a new, fundamentally different benefit that can fill a huge void in financial planning services currently offered to employees. Employees generally view this company “perk” as strictly an executive level benefit.

 

You can learn more about the debate over employer provided financial education and advice by reading our white paper:  HERE 

 

Our Services for Unions and Associations

Unions and associations exist to benefit their members and offering personalized financial planning and advice as a union or association benefit is an incredible way to create real membership value that help justify dues. The union or association group advisory agreement is custom designed with the same types of planning and advice services we offer to employers. Our group advisory agreements are easy to set up and are inexpensive to maintain. Dorval & Chorne currently serves over 20,000 members under our group advisory agreements for unions and associations!