401(k) Specialist Issue 1 - 2022 - 14

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" What I really want to do is help people
understand that if they have trouble saving, it's
not because they're stupid, ignorant, or bad
people, " Lester said. " It's because it's hard, and
our brains are not wired to help us save. "
She spent the better part of her career
compensating for that brain block, developing
and managing retirement-focused products to
make it easy(er) for individuals to get and stay
on track. Commonplace now, it wasn't just a
few short years ago, and her 29-year tenure
with J.P. Morgan mirrored many of the automatic
features and target-date innovations seen
in the defined contribution space.
Anyone looking for motivation need only
glance at her exhaustive resumé.
The viola and rugby-playing Princeton undergrad
earned her master's degree from The
Johns Hopkins University before heading to
Japan as a Fulbright Scholar to aid a member
of Japanese Parliament. This was after working
for U.S. Senate Governmental Affairs Committee
Chairman John Glenn.
Joining J.P. Morgan Asset Management in
1992 (and moving to Milan soon after), she
eventually led Retirement Solutions for the
firm for over a decade. Morningstar nominated
her three times as its U.S. Fund Manager of
the Year and awarded Lester and the SmartRetirement
Target-Date team the honor in 2014
in the Allocation asset class.
14
ISSUE 1 2022 | 401kSpecialist.com
Here's something fun-Anne Lester took a 500mile
hike from Italy's Swiss border to Rome to
celebrate her retirement. We typically include a list
of accomplishments further down in the piece, but
this was too good to wait.
After almost three decades, the J.P. Morgan senior
executive left the venerable firm to focus on her
real passion, encouraging people, especially younger
workers, to save for retirement. Yet she defines
the term far differently from previous generations,
as her Italy trip illustrates.
Emphasizing that she has nothing but
respect for J.P. Morgan and the job she loved,
her reason for stepping away left us incredibly
impressed (again).
" I had my third cancer diagnosis in 15
years just as my younger son was going off
to college, " she said. " It's one of those things
that made me stop and wonder if this is how
I should be spending my time ...it made me
think, 'I don't know how many more of these
I'm going to get, but I feel like I'm pushing
my luck, so let me focus on what I'm passionate
about.' "
" Inspiring " is how one individual described
it, an accurate if understated description of
Lester's life and career thus far.
Her oxymoronic post-retirement work
reflects her passion. She sits on the board of
Smart USA, a global savings and investments
technology platform provider whose mission
is " to transform retirement, savings, and
financial well-being around the world. " She
also co-founded the Aspen Leadership Forum
on Retirement Savings in conjunction with
AARP (J.P. Morgan sponsors and invests in
both). She's currently working on a book and
soon will be available for speaking engagements.
One
final accolade; last year, the Employee
Benefit Research Institute presented Lester
with its Lillywhite Award for her lifetime
of contributions, joining past recipient Bill
Sharpe, a Nobel Prize winner, among others.
Automation Advocate
It's why we were concerned when she matter-of-factly
mentioned that she, too, struggled
with saving early on. She claimed she did
everything wrong for the first 15 years of
her working life, and if Lester struggled with
saving given her extensive achievements and
intellect, what chance do the rest of us have?
It's one reason for the almost evangelical zeal
she brings to her educational efforts.
" It's so important for younger people to understand
the power of time as it relates to their
savings, and I think it's something that most of
them don't, " she said. " I really felt compelled to
focus all of my attention on that. "
Lester's message is heavy on behavioral
finance and automation, not surprising given
her time with target-date funds, but she added
this gem: " To me, it's helping people understand
the consequences of the choices they
don't know they're making. "
It's all about timing, she added, and injecting
Thaler, Benartzi et al.'s behavioral concepts
at the moments it's most difficult to save.
" This won't be news to anybody who reads
your magazine because they understand why
all of the defaulting in 401(k) plans works, "
she explained. " But most individuals don't
pay attention, don't know how to make the
best use of the programs they have, and don't
understand the consequences of not doing so. "
She reemphasized she's trying to ensure
people don't feel guilt and shame when wrestling
with savings challenges. It's helping them
understand why they may experience those
feelings and automate more of what they're
doing, which she believes is critical to saving
success. They can then more effectively access
and use employer-based programs.
The key is explaining concepts like present
bias and loss aversion, which is an integral part
of the drivers behind decision-making. She
used an amusing example.
" We keep falling victim to them over and
over again. I just did it myself right before
speaking with you. After telling myself I
would be grateful when they were all gone, I
had another cookie. I could just throw them
away. But have I done that? No. "
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