Media Coverage
"A man may die, nations may rise and fall, but an idea lives on."
John F. Kennedy
Awards and Recognition
Financial Finesse, in partnership with Nestle USA, Inc. awarded 2011 Profit Sharing/401(k) Council of America Signature Award in the "Conversions" category.
Financial Finesse, in partnership with M.A. Mortenson Company awarded 2011 Profit Sharing Council of America Signature Award in the "On Site Events and Workshops" category.
Financial Finesse, in partnership with Aetna, Inc. awarded 2011 Profit Sharing Council of America Signature Award in the "Financial Fitness" category.
Financial Finesse named one of the Los Angeles Business Journal's Best Places to Work, two years in a row in the Small Business category.
Financial Finesse client awarded 2010 Benny Award for Excellence in a Retirement Benefits Plan
Annette Grabow, Benefits Manager for M.A. Mortenson Co. wins 2010 Benny Award honoree for excellence in management of a retirement benefits plan.
Liz Davidson - The Los Angeles Business Journal - Women Making A Difference Award Nominee
"In its 18th year, this annual awards luncheon will recognize women making a difference in the Los Angeles community. This reader-nominated event and special supplement traditionally garners over 200 nominations each year."
Financial Finesse Awarded the For Profit Organization of the Year 2009 EIFLE (Excellence In Financial Literacy Education) Award
Financial Finesse, in partnership with Aetna, wins 2009 Profit Sharing Council of America Signature Award for Excellence in Retirement Education.
Best provider in financial education from PFEEF (Personal Finance Employee Education Foundation)
2009 Solutions Innovator Award
2007 Profit Sharing / 401(k) Council of America Signature Award
Institutional Investor Honors Financial Finesse with the 2006 Impact Players of the Year Award
2006 Profit Sharing / 401(k) Council Signature Award
2006 Women Making a Difference Awards
2005 Profit Sharing / 401(k) Council Signature Award
2004 Profit Sharing / 401(k) Council Signature Award
2000 Working Woman Award for Entrepreneurial Excellence
What could a Santorum presidency mean for your finances?
By Liz Davidson
With his surprisingly strong photo-finish in Iowa’s Republican caucuses (he lost to Mitt Romney by just 8 votes), former Senator Rick Santorum is positioning himself to consolidate conservative support as an alternative to the more moderate Romney for the GOP presidential nomination. While he’s still considered by most experts to be a long shot, stranger things have happened in American politics…
Posted in Press
How Will Upcoming Changes to Retirement Plans Affect You?
By Liz Davidson | Forbes – Thu, Dec 22, 2011 2:44 PM EST
Recently, one of our planners was discussing retirement planning with a woman in her mid 50′s. She was a model saver living within her means, had no debt, and was maximizing her 401(k) contributions (or so she thought)…
Posted in Press
Fixing the 3 Top Mistakes Advisors Tend to Make With Their Clients
Even two years after the recession has officially ended, all eyes remain on financial professionals. The good news is that investors are regaining trust in the industry—according to a Northstar/Sullivan Rebuilding Investor Trust study, investors’ trust in their financial advisor has increased from 61% in 2009 to 74% this year…
Posted in Press
Looking back on 2011: “Bright spots” in benefits communication and Education
We’ve all heard that we learn more from our failures than our successes.
But is that really true? Recent research demonstrates the opposite to be true—that there is actually a tremendous amount we can learn from our success…
Four Ways to Take Control of Your Retirement
By Nancy Anderson | Forbes – Thu, Dec 8, 2011
Something unusual happened last week. I took a call on our financial helpline from Diane Sandoval *not her real name who wanted to know if she was on track to retire at 65 (she was in her early fifties)…
Posted in Press
Tagged retirement, retirement preparedness
Rescuing Retirement
Every year, Annette Grabow travels to about 40 different U.S. cities to help kick off retirement-related workshops for the 3,000 employees at Mortenson Construction, a Minneapolis-based company operating primarily in the United States with additional offices in Toronto and Shanghai, China…
Posted in Press
Tagged 401(k), employer retirement education, retirement, retirement preparedness
How Herman Cain Could Be Derailing Your Clients
One of the most common questions that Financial Finesse has been getting from employees on our hotline lately has been “How will the 9-9-9 tax plan affect me?” We haven’t even elected a new president yet, but the idea of an overhaul to our current tax system is top of mind for many Americans…
Posted in Press
Tagged economic policy, investing, politics
Weekend Edition – Outstanding Portfolios are Like Championship Teams
You often hear about dynasties in sports and how hard it is these days for teams to put together a string of championships. Whether it’s losing players to free agency, nagging injuries, or a variety of reasons, repeating as champions is a very difficult task…
Posted in Press
Tagged financial stress, investing, marriage and finances, marriage and money
Investors Today Have Much to be Thankful For
By Nancy Anderson | Forbes – Thu, Nov 24, 2011
At first glance, it doesn’t seem that investors have much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. Though we certainly aren’t celebrating a roaring bull market, there are some things investors take for granted today that deserve a nod of thanks…
Posted in Press
Tagged investing, thanksgiving
Linda Robertson Talks Employee Financial Issues with Scott Drake
Financial Finesse Senior Financial Planner…Linda Robertson discusses their latest report:
Posted in Press
Liz Davidson on Retirement Matters Radio
CEO and Founder of Financial Finesse, Liz Davidson shares some insight into the current state of US employees’ retirement preparedness with Retirement Matters Radio Host Bill Smith, and Co-Host Jarrett Lang.
See the full post to listen to the show
Posted in Press
Employee financial wellness can improve company bottom lines
Some might think it would be cost-prohibitive for employers to offer financial wellness programs to employees, but data by Financial Finesse Inc. shows that these programs can only help employers’ bottom lines…
Posted in Featured Press, Press
What Companies Can Do To Help Employees’ Retirement Preparedness
Most employees are not ready for retirement. That’s the conclusion from Retirement Preparedness Report, a study by the financial education firm Financial Finesse. According to the report…
Posted in Press
What’s Working: NFL Players Association Financial Education
How do you get a young man thinking about his financial health and saving for retirement–especially if that young man believes he’ll earn millions of dollars a year for the next ten to 20 years?
Read the original article from the November issue of Benefits Magazine to learn how Dana Hammonds, Director of Player Services for the NFL Players Association was able to do it.
Posted in Featured Press, Press
An Occupy Wall Street Takeaway
The Occupy Wall Street movement may still be amorphous, but it is making clear that awareness about lack of basic understanding of the financial markets and homeownership is proliferating education efforts most likely toprevail for years to come and regardless of the outcome of the movement it helped set off…
Employees Becoming More Self-Reliant in Retirement Planning
Employees continued to focus on retirement planning in the third quarter, a report released Friday by Financial Finesse found. Over one-third of calls to the financial education firm’s hotline were related to retirement planning, up from 25% in the second quarter…
Posted in Press
Tagged danielle andrus, financial finesse reseasrch, liz davidson, Q3 2011
Liz Davidson on Credit Talk Radio with Gerri Detweiler
Finances are the number one cause of employee stress. Can that be changed? Liz Davidson, CEO of Financial Finesse, joins Talk Credit Radio to share findings on financial stress and wellness. She’ll reveal the top areas of financial stress, and the effects they have on your health. She’ll also share specific strategies proven to help!
Listen to the show “Is there a cure for financial stress?” here.
Posted in Press
Employees More Aware of Financial Future Responsibility
A 2011 Q3 survey by Financial Finesse finds U.S. employees are more aware their financial futures are in their own hands, with less help from government and employer-sponsored benefits.
Financial Finesse Releases Third Quarter Research on Employee Financial Issues for 2011
The report found employees continue to show strong resilience amidst a troubled economy
Download the full report here.
El Segundo, CA—Financial Finesse, the leading provider of unbiased workplace financial education programs in the U.S., has released the latest trends in employee financial issues from its third quarter research report for 2011. Continue reading this post …
Posted in Press
Q&A with Financial Finesse CEO, Liz Davidson: Employees Demonstrate Resilience through the Storm
Read a Question and Answer session with Liz Davidson, CEO and founder of Financial Finesse, on the company’s latest research: Q3 2011: Research on Employee Financial Issues. Davidson discusses the latest trends from the report in employees showing resilience in light of sluggish job and real estate markets and a tough economy.
Posted in Press
3 Things Advisors Can Learn From Steve Jobs
After news of Steve Jobs’ death earlier this month we started talking at Financial Finesse about the impact he’s had on us individually and on our society. It was a brief moment of realization that the influence he had made with Apple was enormous—beyond what we had ever really put thought into until that moment…
Posted in Press
Tagged financial advisor, liz davidson, steve jobs
Do you actually know what’s in your retirement fund?
Many of us don’t have a clue, according to recent research. It’s probably time to find out what you have in store come retirement. Here are a few things to keep in mind.
Posted in Press
SHRM Interviews Linda Roberston on Financial Education
Financial Finesse’s Linda Robertson talks about how educating employees on managing their finances may improve productivity.
See the video on SHRM’s Website here. You will need a SHRM member ID to watch.
Posted in Press
Tagged financial education, Linda Robertson, retirement
Three open enrollment communication tips
Last year, 43 percent of employees sought HR guidance for benefits information, according to a Prudential study on benefits communication…
Posted in Press
KGO San Fransisco: Micheal Finney Talks with Nancy Anderson about 10 Things College Students Waste Money On
Financial Finesse Forbes contributor Nancy Anderson talks with KGO Radio, San Fransisco’s Michael Finney on 10 Things College Students Waste Money On.
Click here to download the show.
Read the original Forbes.com blog post here.
Showing them the light
Financial adviser Terry Kingsbery will stand in front of a room of highly educated people with a dollar bill held up high to make a point about planning for retirement…
Posted in Press
How to Buy a Home Without 20% Down
By Erik Carter | Forbes – Tue, Nov 1, 2011
With housing prices and mortgage rates still near historic lows, now could be a great time to become a homeowner. I recently talked to a caller on our Financial Helpline who had a great credit score and could afford the mortgage payment for the home value she wanted since it would be about the same as her current rent. (In many parts of the country, it’s actually cheaper to buy than to rent right now.)…
Posted in Press
Tagged home buying
US employees still not on track for retirement, report says
US employees’ retirement preparedness remains low, even though they are putting heavier emphasis on retirement planning, according to a new report from Financial Finesse, a US provider of workplace financial education…
Posted in Press
4 realities every pre-retiree must face
I get tired of reiterating studies on the shortfall between pre-retirement preparedness and post-retirement reality. But that doesn’t mean workers should ignore the message; it just means they should filter the noise…
Posted in Press
PSCA Announces the 2011 Signature Awards Winners
LAS VEGAS, NV, Sep 21, 2011 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) — The Plan Sponsor Council of America (PSCA) announced the winners of its annual Signature Awards today during a special presentation at its 64th Annual National Conference at The Mirage in Las Vegas…
Posted in Press
Tagged Aetna, financial finesse, Financial Fitness, Mortenson Construction Co., PSCA, PSCA Signature Awards
Are You Doing Enough to Prepare for Retirement?
So how prepared are you for retirement? A common saying is that we spend more time planning our annual vacation then we do our retirement, but are we really doing that badly? I recently had a conversation with Liz Davidson, CEO of Financial Finesse, on just how (un)prepared we are and what we can do about it…
Posted in Press
3 Things Advisors Should Do Now to Help Clients Plan for Retirement
Over the last several weeks, our Think Tank of CFP professionals and I have been immersed in collecting and analyzing data to determine the current state of U.S. employees’ retirement preparedness…
Posted in Press
Worried About Higher Taxes?
By Erik Carter | Forbes – Tue, Sep 20, 2011
If so, you’re not alone. Even if you’re not one of those earning over $200k (or couples over $250k) that the President’s proposed deficit plan would raise taxes on, ever growing budget deficits and entitlement spending are causing more and more people to wonder if they’re next…
Posted in Press
Tagged erik carter, taxes
Most Americans Aren’t Prepared for Retirement
With the baby-boom generation set to retire and both political parties discussing cuts to the traditional social insurance safety net, it is especially important for workers to think about and plan for retirement…
Posted in Press
Tagged americans not ready for retirement, retirement preparedness
Retirement Preparedness: Adapting to the ‘New Normal’
The overall state of U.S. employees’ retirement preparedness remains low despite a positive trend in employees improving their finances and putting heavier emphasis on retirement planning, according to a September 2011 special report, State of U.S. Employees’ Financial Preparedness, by Financial Finesse, a provider of workplace financial education…
Posted in Press
Finesse: savers save
The U.S. residents who have their retirement planning act together seem to be the same ones who are doing a good job of handling day-to-day financial matters…
Posted in Press
How to Know If You’re On Track for Retirement
If you don’t know, then you’re not. That is one of the chief conclusions of a new retirement preparedness study, which asked employees of all ages if they are on track to retire with the recommended 70% to 80% of pre-retirement income…
Posted in Press
Tagged dan kadlec, liz davidson, time, us employee retirement preparedness
U.S. Employees’ Retirement Preparedness Remains Low
A recent report by Financial Finesse finds the state of U.S. employees’ retirement preparedness remains low despite a positive trend in employees improving their finances and putting heavier emphasis on retirement.
Posted in Press
Majority of workers not prepared for retirement
The overall state of U.S. employees’ retirement preparedness remains low despite a positive trend in employees improving their finances and putting heavier emphasis on retirement planning, according to a report from Financial Finesse…
Posted in Press
Q&A with Financial Finesse CEO, Liz Davidson: The State of U.S. Employee Retirement Preparedness
Read a Question and Answer session with Liz Davidson, CEO and founder of Financial Finesse, on the company’s latest and final Special Research Report: State of US Employee Retirement Preparedness. Davidson discusses Continue reading this post …
Posted in Press
Financial Finesse Releases New Study on the State of U.S. Employees’ Retirement Preparedness
Report shows employees continue to make improvements to finances and increase focus on retirement but are not doing enough to adapt to the “new normal”
Download a PDF of the release here.
El Segundo, CA-Financial Finesse, the nation’s leading U.S. provider of unbiased workplace financial education, has released its third and final special research report for 2011 on the state of employees’ retirement preparedness. Continue reading this post …
Posted in Press
Financial Finesse Selects Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards’ Consumer Advocate Eleanor Blayney, CFP® as Guest Blogger
Blayney will be a frequent contributor, writing about timely consumer financial literacy issues with a focus on helping Americans navigate a difficult economy
El Segundo, Ca.—Financial Finesse, the nation’s leading provider of unbiased workplace financial education programs in the U.S., announced today it has selected Eleanor Blayney, CFP®, Consumer Advocate for the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, as its newest regular guest contributor to its daily blog…
Read the full release here.
Posted in Press
Tagged CFP Board of Standards, Eleanor Blayney, Financial Finesse blog
When Emergency Savings Aren’t Enough
We often hear that we should keep at least 3 – 6 months of expenses in savings for emergencies, especially if we lose our job. Some experts suggest increasing it to 6 – 12 months or even more because of the poor economy. But are there some emergencies for which money in the bank just won’t be enough?
What Would a Romney Presidency Mean For Your Finances?
By Liz Davidson | Forbes – Wed, Sep 7, 2011
Labor Day marks the unofficial end of the summer and beginning of the presidential election season. In that vein, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney released his economic plan yesterday. With polls showing him running second in the primaries and strongest against Obama in the general election, it may be a good idea to examine what Romney’s economic plan could mean for your personal finances…
Posted in Press
Tagged personal finance, romney
Could Taxes Derail Your Retirement?
By Liz Davidson | Forbes – Tue, Sep 6, 2011
We recently received a question from a woman who was trying to see if she could afford to take an early retirement package but wasn’t sure how much of her income she should budget for taxes. Too often people think about how much income they’ll need to maintain their standard of living without factoring in the impact of taxes. Overestimating taxes can lead you to delay your retirement unnecessarily…
Posted in Press
5 Retirement Strategies that No Longer Work
By Liz Davidson | Forbes – Thu, Sep 1, 2011
You just can’t count on normal anymore. I was thinking about this last week when the earthquake hit and I had to duck for cover under a desk while in a meeting in Washington, DC. Being from California, I am used to and fully prepared for earthquakes, but not necessarily when I am in DC…
Posted in Press
Tagged forbes, investing strategies, retirement
Want to Retain More Clients? Provide a Different Kind of Retirement Advice
Last week, an employee who was a year out from retirement called the Financial Finesse Financial Helpline seeking some guidance. He didn’t ask our planner about payout options in his 401(k), or how to file for Social Security. Instead, the employee explained that he didn’t really want to retire even though he could…
Posted in Press
Tagged advisor, retirement, retirement guidance
Are You Leaving Your Female Workers Behind?
Although Women need to save more, invest more wisely, and better manage benefits in preparation for a longer retirement than men, research shows there is a significant gap in women’s financial knowledge.
Read the full article here.
Posted in Featured Press, Press
What Rock-Bottom Interest Rates Mean for Consumers
In an unprecedented move on Tuesday, the Federal Reserve said definitively that historically-low rates are here to stay until at least mid-2013, essentially eliminating the possibility of a hike in interest rates for the next two years…
5 ways employers can improve women’s financial education
In my last column I talked about the gender gap between men and women in their knowledge and confidence of key financial concepts and the risks this gap poses for employers in delayed retirement and health care costs…
Posted in Press
Tagged benefits, financial education benefits communication, women
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