What is Forthright Partners?
We are a workplace financial literacy program aimed at providing unbiased financial education to employees. For a flat monthly fee paid by the employer, our clients have unlimited access to a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ practitioner by phone or virtual meeting. Our advisors are experts many areas, including:
Retirement Planning
Debt Management
Investments
Social Security
Insurance
Employee Benefits
Major Purchases
Financial Behavior
Estate Planning
College Funding
IRA/401(k) rollovers
Credit Scores
Budgeting
Taxation
Annuities
Creditor Protection
Forthright Partners is a consulting and education service. We do not sell products and do not earn commissions. We believe firmly that if your financial literacy program involves product sales, you do not have a financial literacy program. Many EAPs will simply refer callers to a local advisor who, in turn, will sell them a product.
Our mission is to connect everyday Americans who have real financial questions with the best advisors in the industry - and do it without any conflicts of interest.
Why Is Forthright Important?
Employees who have financial literacy programs at work are more likely to be satisfied with their job and far less likely to take job elsewhere, even if it pays more. They are also more productive at work and contribute to a better workplace environment for all employees. The statistics below are staggering:
Among working Americans:
57% are stressed about their finances.¹
68% do not have a trusted financial advisor.²
40% say good financial advice costs more than they can afford.²
48% say it is hard to know which financial advice can be trusted.³
39% admit to spending three hours per week preoccupied or distracted by their financial issues while at work.³
78% believe the employer should assist employees in achieving financial wellness during their working years.³
Here is an excerpt from Financial Advisor Magazine - September 2019 which illustrates perfectly why everyday Americans need unbiased financial advice that does not involve commissions:
“An advisor charging [Assets Under Management] has little incentive to make recommendations to clients that might reduce their AUM...
“What if I have a client that gets a $100,000 windfall from their rich uncle or something like that?”...“If they had a bunch of outstanding debt and that client comes to me as an AUM advisor, though I would have the same fiduciary obligations, a conflict would exist. I might want to say that they should just invest with me—because that is how I get paid—though it might be better for them to pay off their debt.””
¹PwC 2017 Employee Financial Wellness Survey
²Northwestern Mutual Planning & Progress Study 2016
³TIAA-CREF survey via KRC Research 2013
Caroline Cakebread, “Why Should Employers Care About Financial Literacy,” Plans & Trusts Vol. 32, No. 3, (2014):pp. 9.
The Value of Employees’ Financial Wellness. CFO Research/Prudential. The Prudential Insurance Company of America, Newark, NJ. ©2016 CFO Publishing LLC.