© 2007 kasina®
i
Executive Summary
………………………………………………………………………………………
In New York City, a new restaurant opens nearly every day. Generally speaking,
these restaurants take the place of older, unsuccessful attempts at capturing the
hearts, imaginations, and palettes of the eating public. As often as not, however,
restaurant owners invest too much time, energy, and money in trying to create a
dazzling environment while they neglect the single most defining element of the
eating experience: sublime cuisine. Truism though it may be, when it comes to
restaurants, food is all that finally matters.
The turnover rate may not be identical, but Web sites succeed and fail on the same
scale as restaurants, and typically for the same reasons. Like restaurant-goers,
Defined Contribution Web site visitors arrive with an appetite. While it is probably
not for mahi mahi in a drizzle of mango sauce, it is almost always a hunger for
account or plan-related information. Specifically, sponsors and participants need
information regarding a wide range of subjects, including, but not limited to:
¾ Plan data and associated reports
¾ Plan details and product information
¾ Investment planning and educational tools and materials
© 2007 kasina®
i
If the appetite for such goes unmet, the site fails its audience — and with
significant consequences. After all, a Web site that fails to enable its users to
successfully plan and manage retirement savings will negatively affect the lives of
countless employees and their families. More so than any other online offering, the
success or failure of a Defined Contribution Web site carries with it significant
fiduciary ramifications, amplifying the importance of site usability, availability and
depth of content, and the quality of offered tools and materials.
Firms must remember to balance the availability of content and functionality, the
quality of that content and functionality, and the overall user experience. Using an
enhanced three-tier methodology, kasina determined the effectiveness of Defined
Contribution plan participant and plan sponsor Web sites as viewed through the eyes
of their respective users.
The “Top 5 Web Sites for DC Plan Sponsors and Plan Participants” balance these three
elements for determining top sites. These sites and their distinguishing features have
been prepared as case studies to showcase particular strengths and provide more indepth lessons that can be leveraged in improving the state of the Defined
Contribution industry.
KASINA’S 2007 “TOP 5 WEB SITES FOR PLAN PARTICIPANTS”
OVERALL KASINA
AVAILABILITY
QUALITY
USER
WEB INDEX
SCORE
SCORE
SCORE
EXPERIENCE
COMPANY
(out of 100)
(out of 100)
(out of 100)
(out of 100)
1) Fidelity
Investments
77
76
67
74
2) T. Rowe Price
74
78
37
66
3) Vanguard
71
62
60
64
4) Mercer HR
Services
63
70
33
59
5) ICMA-RC
68
48
63
58
© 2007 kasina®
ii
KASINA’S 2007 “TOP 5 WEB SITES FOR PLAN SPONSORS”
AVAILABILITY
SCORE
(out of 100)
QUALITY
SCORE
(out of 100)
USER
EXPERIENCE
(out of 100)
OVERALL KASINA
WEB INDEX
SCORE
(out of 100)
1) Vanguard
68
56
72
63
2) T. Rowe Price
73
42
67
57
3) Fidelity
Investments
66
36
43
47
4) Sun Life
Retirement
Services
61
40
30
44
5) The Online
401(k)
61
38
23
41
COMPANY
© 2007 kasina®
iii
Table of Contents
………………………………………………………………………………………
Introduction ........................................................ - 1 What Makes an Effective Web Site? .......................... - 3 Availability of Content and Functionality ......................................................- 4 Quality of Content and Functionality............................................................- 5 User Experience ...................................................................................... - 10 -
Top 5 Web Sites for DC Plan Participants .................- 13 1) Fidelity Investments – netbenefits.fidelity.com ....................................... - 15 Performance Information ........................................................................ - 16 Fund-Level Actions ................................................................................ - 17 Loan/Rollover/Withdrawal Comparison...................................................... - 18 2) T. Rowe Price – rps.troweprice.com ........................................................ - 20 Impact of Loan on Plan Balance .............................................................. - 21 Actionable Calculators............................................................................ - 22 Personalized Fund Watchlist Tracking ....................................................... - 23 3) Vanguard – retirementplans.vanguard.com .............................................. - 25 Personalized Performance ....................................................................... - 26 Fund-to-Fund Comparison ....................................................................... - 27 Plan Information ................................................................................... - 28 4) Mercer HR Services – www.ibenefitcenter.com ........................................ - 30 Education............................................................................................. - 30 Objective-Based Planning ....................................................................... - 33 Transaction History Search Tool ............................................................... - 34 5) ICMA-RC – www.icmarc.org ................................................................... - 36 Site Organization and Usability ............................................................... - 37 Messages and Action Items ..................................................................... - 38 Loan Modeling ...................................................................................... - 39 © 2007 kasina®
iv
Top 5 Web Sites for DC Plan Sponsors......................- 41 1) Vanguard – bridge.vanguard.com........................................................... - 43 User Security ........................................................................................ - 44 Fund Information .................................................................................. - 45 Employee Search Tool............................................................................. - 47 2) T. Rowe Price – www.troweprice.com...................................................... - 48 Online Community ................................................................................. - 49 Blog .................................................................................................... - 50 Participant Education............................................................................. - 51 3) Fidelity Investments – psw.fidelity.com.................................................. - 53 Participant-Level Reporting..................................................................... - 54 Plan-Level Reporting.............................................................................. - 56 Team Workspace .................................................................................... - 57 4) Sun Life Retirement Services – www.mfs.com .......................................... - 60 Dashboard Homepage............................................................................. - 61 Participant-Level Reporting..................................................................... - 63 Plan Assets by Vehicle and Type .............................................................. - 64 5) The Online 401(k) – www.theonline401k.com .......................................... - 67 Dashboard ............................................................................................ - 68 To-Do List/Track It ................................................................................ - 69 Plan Summary ....................................................................................... - 70 -
Conclusion ..........................................................- 72 Appendix: Methodology.........................................- 73 Availability of Content and Functionality .................................................. - 74 Quality of Content and Functionality ........................................................ - 76 User Experience..................................................................................... - 80 -
About kasina.......................................................- 81 -
© 2007 kasina®
v