United Income Releases Expanded Version of Breakthrough Wealth Management Software

WASHINGTON, Feb. 5, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- United Income, an independent wealth management software company, today released an expanded version of its breakthrough wealth management software. Informed by work with behavioral economists and its advisory board of academics and former top public policy officials, the new functionality implements leading behavioral economics ideas to help clients improve financial planning and management decisions.

"It is an exciting time to be on the leading edge of using technology in new ways to build wealth for households," said Matt Fellowes, United Income's CEO, Morningstar's former Chief Innovation Officer, and a former Brookings Institution Fellow. "New technology we've invented has unlocked wealth building levers that were not possible in the past."

To date, United Income boasts 99 percent client retention, and over 25 percent of its clients have brought over additional assets since enrolling in the company's wealth management technology.ⁱ The company estimates that it has grown more than 3x faster than other leading technology-based wealth management solutions at this stage.ⁱⁱ With these new features informed by behavioral economics, the company hopes to help boost the percentage of its members that are expected to have enough money to reach their goals and pay for retirement.

Included in the new suite of behavioral economics functionality, United Income members can now see expected future life milestones, along with personalized lifespan, spending, and tax projections that the company has made available since launching. This functionality is based on academic work that has found people are more likely to plan for their future well-being if they can better relate to what that future may look like.ⁱⁱⁱ

These new features complement United Income's existing functionality that simulates millions of combinations of potential life and market futures to optimize its financial plans and investment allocations for members.

New functionality also includes the ability for United Income clients to see how their wealth may change in the future, which can now be adjusted for different inflation scenarios. "Too often, wealth projections are misrepresented by ignoring that the buying power of dollars tends to fall over time," says Andrew Vincent, United Income's head of product. "Using our new technology, we've created inflation projections for major budget categories, like healthcare, and assets, like houses, so our members can see a more nuanced picture of how their wealth may change in the future." 

United Income has also implemented new peer comparisons, which allow members to compare how much wealth they have built compared to other households, with specific recommendations for how to build wealth. Fellowes said the inspiration came from HelloWallet, a financial guidance software company that he previously founded. "We learned that peer comparisons were one of the most powerful tools in the behavioral economist's tool-chest to drive improvements in the financial health of households. We're thrilled to now utilize those lessons at United Income to help our members."

This unique combination reflects United Income's commitment to continually expand its unified system of consumer finance that can analyze the interdependency of different life, market, and public policy decisions and potential outcomes. Using this robust understanding of how the world works, the company believes it is better positioned to help its members reach their financial goals and build wealth through their lifetimes.

ABOUT UNITED INCOME

United Income is a software company that provides financial planning, investment management, and every day budgeting to retail consumers, with a focus on households that are approaching or in retirement. The company aims to extend the life and potential of money to complement the innovations that have extended human life. To do this, United Income relies on data and new technology to study the interdependency of individual, public, and market dynamics that drive financial outcomes. They then translate that unique understanding of how the world works into powerful and personalized money management for their members. For more information, visit www.unitedincome.com.

DISCLOSURE

Investment strategies, such as asset allocation, diversification, or rebalancing, do not assure or guarantee better performance and cannot eliminate the risk of investment losses. There are no guarantees that a portfolio employing these or any other strategy will outperform a portfolio that does not engage in such strategies. There can be no assurance that any projected or actual performance shown on the United Income software will lead to the expected results shown or perform in any predictable manner. It should not be assumed that investors will experience returns in the future, if any, comparable to those shown on the United Income software. Mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, and other securities are subject to risk, including loss of principal. All investments have inherent risks. There can be no assurance that an investment strategy proposed by United Income will achieve its goal. Past performance does not guarantee future results.

ⁱ 99% client retention is based on retail clients of United Income Wrap Program from the date the individual became a UI Wrap Program client through 12/31/2018. Additional assets are defined as net deposits greater than $1,000 that occur more than 30 days after a client's initial deposit in the UI Wrap Program and were measured as of 12/31/2018.

ⁱⁱ Calculated by examining AUM by month since first publicly disclosed funding rounds for Betterment, Personal Capital and Wealthfront relative to UI's AUM since first funding round.

ⁱⁱⁱ E. Hershfield, Daniel G. Goldstein, William F. Sharpe, Jesse Fox, Leo Yeykelis, Laura L. Carstensen, Jeremy N. Bailenson. Increasing Saving Behavior Through Age-Progressed Renderings of the Future Self. Journal of Marketing Research: November 2011, Vol. 48, No. SPL, pp. S23-S37.

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SOURCE United Income