Morningstar Associates Joins Schwab Retirement Plan Services

Morningstar Associates, LLC is now a managed account provider for Schwab Retirement Plan Services, a 401(k) provider to roughly 1.6 million workers who use company retirement plans. The company is acting as a provider for Schwab Index Advantage, a retirement plan solution that combines low fund investment expenses with management and personalized savings recommendations.

Morningstar is now a fully integrated provider of managed account services to workers saving for their retirement through the Schwab program, along with GuidedChoice. Employers will have the option of choosing Morningstar's managed account services after the Schwab Index Advantage integration is complete, which will happen later this year.

"We have a long history of offering both Morningstar and GuidedChoice 401(k) advice to participants in the traditional 401(k) plans we service," said Steve Anderson, executive vice president, Schwab Retirement Plan Services. "We are pleased now to be able to offer our Schwab Index Advantage clients a choice of these two advice providers."

"We are excited to be part of this innovative 401(k) offering," said Brock Johnson, president of retirement solutions for Morningstar Investment Management. "With Morningstar's managed account services, participants can receive personalized savings and investment advice recommendations that we believe can make a real difference in helping them meet their retirement goals."

Schwab is also working on a new version of the Index Advantage solution that will offer index-based exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the investment lineup. This will give employers a choice of offering index mutual funds or ETFs to their workers. The company expects to launch the new version of the solution later this year, and Morningstar and GuidedChoice will both be available to clients selecting the ETF version as well.