New strategic partnership with The Retirement Advisor University will build an omnichannel platform designed to bring wealth management and financial planning to an increased number of retirement plan participants

NEW YORK, Jan. 26, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Informa Connect’s WealthManagement.com today announces the launch of Retirement Plan Advisor (RPA) Edge, a new omnichannel initiative that will educate the financial advice industry about the growing needs and opportunities to bring true wealth management to defined contribution retirement plans and their participants.

To bring the financial advice and retirement industries closer together through RPA Edge, the Informa and the WealthManagement.com team have partnered with The Retirement Advisor University (TRAU), the premier retirement education and training organization in the country led by founder and CEO Fred Barstein.

The collaboration will connect key influencers from across the retirement plan advice industry with their counterparts in the wealth management industry at a series of new Informa events throughout 2022 – and will also introduce regular RPA Edge digital content that will be distributed by WealthManagement.com.

“The core mission of RPA Edge is to help advisors work more effectively with plan sponsors and plan participants in a way that moves their business forward and improves the financial lives and retirement security of their clients,” said Mark Bruno, Managing Director of Informa Wealth Management.

“Over the last 20 years, the assets in defined contribution plans have more than quadrupled, yet incredibly only a fraction of retirement plan participants are actually working directly with a financial advisor or are receiving some level of professional guidance on their retirement planning, savings and investments.” Currently, there are over 90 million participants in defined contribution plans – with a combined $10.4 trillion in assets, according to the Investment Company Institute.

“We share a common, ambitious goal with TRAU and Fred Barstein,” continued Bruno, “to identify and put into action strategies that will improve outcomes for retirement plan advisors, plan sponsors – and ultimately plan participants.”

“TRAU is excited to be partnering with Informa to continue our mission to empower advisers to leverage the convergence of wealth, retirement and benefits at work to help DC participants improve their financial health as well as enable employers to recruit and retain talent,” said Barstein. “Leveraging Informa’s global reach, education, training and research capabilities, we are confident that this collaboration will have a meaningful impact for advisers, their clients and provider partners.”

The new RPA Edge program is composed of:

• Dedicated RPA Edge content, starting today, featuring informative reporting, videos and events hosted in a new core section of WealthManagement.com and made available to an audience of over 600,000 financial professionals across the wealth management industry. RPA Edge content will also include a new column from Barstein, as well as Barstein’s “401k RealTalk” video series.

• RPA Edge newsletter published twice-monthly covering news, industry updates and views from innovations and thought leaders for 38,000 retirement plan industry practitioners.

• RPA Edge podcast hosted by Barstein of TRAU on the WealthManagement.com WMTV channel showcasing 401(k) industry leaders and innovative companies focused on the future of the defined contribution industry and the convergence of wealth, retirement and benefits at work.

• RPA Edge Think Tanks that will connect and empower key organizations across the industry: 401(k) aggregators, record-keepers, broker-dealers, CIOs asset managers and innovative Fintech providers. Upcoming Think Tanks include:

- RPA Edge Aggregator Think Tank (during the Wealth Management Edge Conference, May 31 – June 3, 2022 in Hollywood, Florida)

- RPA Edge Broker-Dealer and Record-Keeper Think Tank (during the WealthManagment.com 2022 Industry Awards taking place the second week of September 2022 in New York City)

“The launch of RPA Edge and the partnership with TRAU and Fred Barstein, we believe, will be transformational for WealthManagement.com, our audience – and ultimately an industry,” said Bruno.

For more information:

• Visit WealthManagement.com to view RPA Edge content
• Sign up to receive the RPA Edge newsletter
• Tune in to the RPA Edge podcasts
• Register for the Wealth Management Edge Conference

About WealthManagement.com
WealthManagement.com, an Informa business, provides everything wealth professionals need to know to stay knowledgeable about the industry, build stronger relationships, improve their practice, and grow their business. Named 2021 Neal Award Winner as Best Media Brand for Overall Editorial Excellence, WealthManagement.com offers financial services organizations a broad array of marketing services designed to help them influence the industry’s leading audience of wealth management professionals.

About Informa 
Informa PLC is a leading, international business to business information services Group, operating in over 30 countries. We create transaction-led exhibitions and content-based events, specialist data, intelligence and marketing services products, as well as scholarly research and specialist reference-led academic content. Our products and services help businesses and professionals connect, learn, do business and gain an edge over the competition. Informa is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a member of the FTSE 100.

CONTACT:
For additional information about RPA Edge, please contact:
Mark Bruno
Managing Director of Informa Wealth Management
Mark.Bruno@Informa.com