For many Americans, the current pandemic has caused a current state of financial instability and insecurity.

To gain more insight into how investors are reacting to the historic stretch of market volatility, we analyzed data from millions of our retirement plan participants. With a focus on comparing individuals who are enrolled in Empower Advisory Services with those savers who take a do-it-yourself (DIY) approach, our research shows there is a stark contrast in behavior between these two groups.

As it turns out, Advisory Services users are more likely than DIY investors to stay the course with their long-term investment strategy.

Key findings:

• Advisory Services users are less likely to make major self-directed allocation transfers.
• Participants in Advisory Services are more engaged with the Empower call center.
• For the most part, individuals in Advisory Services have remained in the program.
• Call center volume shows those in Advisory Services are seeking concrete advice rather than “panic selling.”

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