| | April 201619CIOReviewThe banking sector has under-gone a significant transfor-mation over the years, lev-eraging technological trends such as cloud, big data, and the Internet of Things. In light of this changed land-scape, where do financial institutions and professionals turn when seeking to provide better retirement, health, and college savings solutions?With more than 35 years of industry experience, Ascensus partners with financial institutions to offer tailored retirement, health savings, and 529 college savings plan recordkeeping, administration, and education solutions. "Our bank and credit union clients are no different from the customers they service, and they expect the same flexibility and convenience from our technology solutions," states Steve Christenson, Executive Vice President at Ascensus. Ascensus' main goal is to meet the needs of financial institutions, their employees, and their clients by delivering best-in-class training technology, software, and financial planning tools.The company's educational offerings allow financial organizations to educate key individuals to ensure compliance and equip them to bring this knowledge back to their teams. The Retirement Learning Suite, featuring instructor-led lectures, teleconference sessions, and online exams, is intended to educate financial institution employees on the intricacies of IRA administration and compliance.Ascensus' IRA Service Center and HSA Service Center software was developed in collaboration with seasoned bankers to help financial organizations boost their IRA and health savings account business. This administration software utilizes a user-friendly interface that continually checks for compliance and selects the proper documentation for a particular transaction. This software also features educational content and entry-level calculators that allow bank and credit union clients to determine which savings account best meets their needs and how much to save moving forward. "As we invest in and evolve our technological offerings, our clients' needs continue to be at the center of each strategic decision we make," explains Christenson.Beyond these technological integra-tions that support banks' IRA and HSA business, Ascensus offers its clients access to scalable 401(k) recordkeep-ing and administrative tools. Ascensus' online fund management functional-ity, launched in early February, is an industry-leading plan management tool and an excellent example of Ascen-sus' client-driven approach to inno-vation. Ascensus developed enhance-ments to its financial professional website to streamline the invest-ment oversight process and provide clients with the ability to manage re-tirement plan i nves t m ent s online. As one of the nation's largest ad-minist rators of 529 plans, Ascensus College Savings strives to provide much-needed education on the advantages and use of 529s. Learn529.com, launched in September 2015, of-fers users a unique learning experience, highlighting benefits and common mis-conceptions associated with 529 plans. Ascensus partnered with EverFi, a lead-ing provider of web-based financial education, to make the site intuitive."We've challenged ourselves to adapt a development strategy that would not only address our users' needs today, but also drive innovation for years to come. This approach, titled Foresight 20/20, encompasses the totality of our service experience as we adapt to a rapidly changing technology scene," adds Christenson. "We believe that at Ascensus, our job is not just to help millions of Americans save for retirement, college, and healthcare, but also to make the process easier for them." AscensusAn Innovator in Savings Plan SolutionsWe believe that at Ascensus, our job is not just to help millions of Americans save for retirement, college, and healthcare, but also to make the process easier for them20 MOST PROMISINGBANKINGSOLUTION PROVIDERS - 2016TECHNOLOGYSteve Christenson
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