It’s now safe to swim, says this shark

Like a remora with a shark, financial advisers could soon be swimming in the same waters as TIAA-Cref – without the fear of being bitten.

The New York retirement services giant has launched a service and support unit that will cater to the needs of fee-based and fee-only advisers.

“It’s the right time because we need to partner with advisers and not treat them like the enemy,” says the new unit’s director, Michael F. Lane.

“We want to reach out to advisers and support them so they can keep the assets with TIAA-Cref,” he adds.

Mr. Lane, 34, was president of Advisor Resources, an AEGON Financial Services Group Inc. unit in Louisville, Ky., and will be based in that city.

He says TIAA-Cref has become increasingly aware that many of its participants use financial advisers to manage assets not invested in TIAA-Cref accounts.

“There has been a gradual awakening at TIAA-Cref. We have $300 billion [in assets] out there. Unless we start to develop relationships with [advisers], the money can be moved out of TIAA-Cref to products that are more expensive,” Mr. Lane says.

He says that the new advisory services unit will offer external field support to advisers so they can understand the nature of TIAA-Cref. Phone support also will be offered on a broader level.

The call team will be proactive and will educate advisers on TIAA-Cref products and services. “We are not just focused on supporting the participants, but also the advisers,” says Mr. Lane.

In addition, TIAA-Cref plans to continue advertising to keep advisers abreast of their offerings.

“It won’t be a deluge of product advertisements. We are just telling advisers who we are, what we are about and that we support them,” says Mr. Lane.

TIAA-Cref will also try to raise its profile through published articles.

long time coming

TIAA-Cref needs to make its web presence more adviser friendly, says Rick A. Huff of Huff Stuart & Carlton in Forest, Va.

The fee-only wealth management firm uses Fidelity Investment Brokerage Group as its exclusive custodian.

But Mr. Huff says that once it is able to download TIAA-Cref account information into its portfolio management system, it will purchase TIAA-Cref products for its clients.

“If and when the download capability becomes available, it will be cost efficient to use them,” says Mr.Huff, whose firm has $50 million in assets under management.

Mr. Huff says TIAA-Cref’s strategy is to enlarge their market share” at a time when it faces increased competition from mutual fund companies in its core business.

“I think it will be a two-edged sword. More and more educational institutions are also looking to offer more choices to their retirement plan participants,” says Mr. Huff.

Ron Pearson, a fee-only adviser at Beach Financial Advisory Service in Virginia Beach, Va., says Mr. Lane has a good reputation as someone who understands what financial advisers look for.

Mr. Pearson also agrees that TIAA-Cref should have begun wooing advisers long ago.

“Without having any ability to have any access to them as it was before, the natural response of a financial adviser would be to move the money away from them into an IRA at Schwab so you can do something with it and get statement downloads,” he says.

“These units give advisers opportunities to establish their businesses. [TIAA-Cref] will find out in the long term, from a cost standpoint, if it’s worth providing materials and support to advisers.”