Will HelloWallet convert Online Financial Advice?

Even in good times, it can be tricky to navigate the waters of personal finance. And yet, amid the devastation wrought by the Great Recession to investment and college-savings accounts — not to mention dashed vacation dreams and retirement goals — only a lucky minority of Americans with substantial incomes have access to a trusted financial adviser.

Despite the popularity of online financial sites and the offerings of many employers human resources departments, most workers have nowhere to turn for independent comprehensive advice on the best methods and places to save and invest. Online sites often have arrangements with banks and lenders who offer “bounties” when consumers sign up. Employers, too, offer services that are sometimes hard to navigate or understand, focus primarily on retirement rather than other financial needs, and are linked to specific providers who may not offer the best deals to employees.

That could change soon. Established vendors such as Bankrate,

Lending Tree, and Mint, as well as the likes of Goldman Sachs-owned Ayco Company, a financial counseling provider that is popular with employee benefits departments, just might have an upstart startup to fear: For-profit HelloWallet. Its a simple self-service site without any business affiliation or hidden arrangement with established financial institutions that helps users identify their financial goals while providing real-time comparisons of virtually all available checking, savings, and loan products from 80,000 institutions — and at a relatively low cost to HR departments.

A Low-Cost Counseling Option for HR

HelloWallet will be offered starting in May at a cost of less than $6 per head — good timing, say some workers benefits specialists, for employers eager to soften the psychological and public relations blow that can come from cost-saving moves such as freezing wages and benefits, shutting down pension plans, or cutting 401(k) contributions. It may plus be appealing…

[Source] dhiram