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In mid-2020, Empower Retirement acquired Personal Capital.
In February 2023, Personal Capital was rebranded and pulled into the Empower Retirement brand.
Empower Retirement was founded in 1891 and they are a retirement plan administrator. They have over 69,000 retirement plans under administration covering over 17 million participants. They are the 2nd largest retirement services country in the United States with $1.2 trillion in assets under administration.
They're massive.
And they acquired Personal Capital in what was seen as a move to branch out into investing and wealth management, using personal finance tools as a lead tool.
For several years, Personal Capital was re-branded as “Personal Capital, an Empower Company” but the Personal Capital logo and name was prominent. It appears that this has come to an end.
On February 16th, Personal Capital was re-branded into Empower.
We are a partner of Personal Capital and they told us last week that they were going to make this change. I was also told that for the foreseeable future, very little of the backend tools would be changing. For the most part, you'd see the same tools just with new logos. I believe their business plan is to still use them as a way to generate potential leads for their wealth management business, so there's no reason to mess with it.
In fact, the URL will remain the same for a few weeks as they migrate that over to the main Empower site too.
When I logged into my account, I saw this modal window:
Empower's plan is to simply rebrand the name and logo to fall under the Empower umbrella. It's a pretty classic marketing move and I'm surprised it took this long. They will continue to offer the tools for free and there was even a hint that they'd get updates given the resources of Empower.
What Does This Mean for New Users?
Nothing that I can see. The only thing changing will be the logo and, eventually, the URL you visit.
From a business perspective, Personal Capital was performing well and so there doesn't appear to be any incentive to mess with the formula. Personal Capital offers free financial planning tools to get you to sign up and then, if it makes sense, attempts to sell wealth planning services.
The only thing that appears to be changing, at least in the next few months, will be the logo.
What Does This Mean for Existing Users?
Again, it appears nothing will change.
When I logged in on 2/16/2023, everything looked the same. A few days later, there were some changes to the logo and some font changes to better match the Empower branding.
If you like the tools, you can continue to use them for free. There aren't any plans to change them so other than cosmetic changes, it'll all be the same.
Either way, it's still the same tools. We may even see new ones as they will now operate as a single entity and you get the full resources of Empower.
Here's what they sent me on Sunday:
Personal Capital is becoming Empower.
Dear Jim,
When we joined forces with Empower in 2020, we united in our mission to bring together the best technology and advice to help people reach their financial goals. Soon, we'll be taking the next step: on or around February 16, 2023, Personal Capital and Empower will become one, and you will see the Empower name and brand in place of Personal Capital going forward.
What else will change as a result of this? Nothing major, actually. Here’s a quick breakdown of what you can expect:
Besides a new look, your dashboard and app will not change. All your information will remain as it does today, so no need to update anything.
On or around the 16th, your mobile phone app will automatically update, with a new screen icon. Your information will remain safe and secure with the same safeguards and security standards.
You’ll start receiving emails from Empower, so keep an eye out for messages from @empower.com. Be sure to check your spam folder from time to time, to make sure you get these important messages.
In other words, the name, logo, app, and website are different, but you’ll still get the same trusted service and tech. Also, there are some great advantages that come with being part of the Empower family. We share the same mission, which is to empower financial freedom for all – we’re excited to be able to expand our ability to deliver on financial freedom through the new combined brand.
Strength and stability: Empower already helps over 17 million people save for their retirement and financial goals. With this powerful combination, we're even better together — partnering with you in all dimensions of your financial life. As always, we're here to help you see the whole picture of everything you have, and owe, together with the role that your retirement plans play in building your wealth.
Security: Our security team has joined forces with the Empower team, to keep your data safe and secure.
Resources: As part of Empower we’ll be able to bring more people and resources together to keep improving our technology. We’ve always been committed to continuous innovation of our tools and services, and we share this passion with Empower.
New services: We’re very excited about this. Over time we’ll roll out even more new services and offerings, to help you and other Americans meet their financial goals.
Wealth Management: We will still offer fiduciary advisory services, with our financial professionals. They can answer your questions about your investment strategy, and help you build a personalized financial plan and portfolio.
For more information, visit www.personalcapital.com/change. Thank you for letting us accompany you on your financial journey. We look forward to supporting you with clarity and confidence every step of the way.
Warm regards,
Personal Capital
Email sent to existing users on February 12, 2023
Are You Still Using Personal Capital?
Yes. Until something changes, I'll keep using Personal Capital until I see a reason not to.
I am not using any of their wealth management services and haven't received a phone call (for years) after telling them I wasn't interested in them.
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Jim has a B.S. in Computer Science and Economics from Carnegie Mellon University, an M.S. in Information Technology - Software Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University, as well as a Masters in Business Administration from Johns Hopkins University. His approach to personal finance is that of an engineer, breaking down complex subjects into bite-sized easily understood concepts that you can use in your daily life.
One of his favorite tools (here's my treasure chest of tools,, everything I use) is Personal Capital, which enables him to manage his finances in just 15-minutes each month. They also offer financial planning, such as a Retirement Planning Tool that can tell you if you're on track to retire when you want. It's free.
He is also diversifying his investment portfolio by adding a little bit of real estate. But not rental homes, because he doesn't want a second job, it's diversified small investments in a few commercial properties and farms in Illinois, Louisiana, and California through AcreTrader.
Recently, he's invested in a few pieces of art on Masterworks too.
Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, not those of any bank or financial institution. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.
