Stadion Money Management, a money management firm known for its defensively-oriented philosophy and strategies using ETFs, today announced the next generation of its 401(k) managed account solution, StoryLine, for participants in the advisor sold, small plan market.

“Participants in the nation’s smallest 401(k) plans have been overlooked by the retirement industry because there hasn’t been an efficient way to deliver customized advice down to the plan participant level in micro and small plans,” said Tim McCabe, Senior Vice President and National Retirement Sales Director at Stadion. “It’s well known that more than 90 percent of retirement plans have assets of less than $5 million, which to me means there’s an awful lot of Americans saving for retirement without advice, direction, or perhaps even access to the most appropriate investment vehicles.”

StoryLine’s innovative approach recognizes every sponsor and employee as unique. The StoryLine process first seeks insight into the overall plan make-up with the intent of tailoring default options designed especially for each plan sponsor. Then, with Stadion’s new participant-friendly web interface, employees will be encouraged to further define their individual investment paths based on personal risk profiles, expectations, and goals. StoryLine will allow – at the employee’s discretion – the inclusion of outside and spousal assets. The end goal of is to have each participant on a path personalized to their own circumstances and needs.

For advisors, the ‘halo’ benefit of StoryLine will be tools available to help deepen their relationships with sponsors and participants as they engage them at the plan level with tailored solutions, and at an individual level with personalized planning that goes beyond typical age- and risk-based investment strategies.

“Target Date Funds, once evolutionary, have not leveraged their leadership largely because they fail to take into consideration that plan participants are individuals, and these individuals retire one at a time,” Mr. McCabe noted. “StoryLine will be the next chapter in retirement solutions, built to help each individual participant determine where they want to go, and what they must do to get there, all within a glide path framework that moves beyond oversimplified ‘age-basing’. Being the same age doesn’t mean two participants necessarily have identical risk profiles, assets, savings habits, or financial pictures.”

“As with technology, in investment management if you’re not disrupting the market through innovation, you’re not doing your job,” said Jud Doherty, Stadion’s President and CEO. “Retirement has been a Stadion focus for over 20 years, and we spend considerable time searching for and honing better options. StoryLine is a result of our recognition that no one should feel like they have to go it alone when planning their financial future. In the large plan market, customization has become the norm both at the sponsor and participant level, and Stadion is bringing this customization to the small plan advisor sold market. Target date funds have become the de facto default option, but it’s just unrealistic to assume one glide path works for everyone. We believe our personalized sponsor and participant glide paths, built using low cost ETFs with a defensive bias, are the next generation of participant investing in the small market.”

StoryLine is expected to debut in the first quarter of 2016.