401(k) Specialist Issue 3 - 2022 - 15

publishes all the negative results, " Thomas
said. " It's unique. We don't want anyone
else wasting time and resources replicating
something we've already studied. So
not only do we publish and share with the
world everything we learn here, but we
publish the things that did not work. "
Telling the Story
Getting American Century to discuss its
Stowers' relationship wasn't easy, and for whatever
reason, it isn't highly publicized, which is
odd, given that the firm isn't publicity shy. Its
sponsorship of the American Century Celebrity
Golf Championship last summer featured
every athlete and actor in existence, with Tony
Romo taking the crown.
" It's an amazing story, and I can't believe
it isn't more well known, " Thomas conceded.
" When I started 17 years ago, we had
just begun to tell the story of the connectivity
between American Century and the
institute, and nobody wanted to hear it. I
kept telling it anyway, and as I did, they'd
say it didn't make sense. In fact, they saw it
as an impediment to our success. "
No longer, and today the timing couldn't be
better given the popularity of environmental,
social and governance (ESG) investing
strategies. The criticism ESG recently received
for its ill-defined measurements and
outcomes only serve to sharpen the direct
relationship Stowers and American Century
enjoy. In keeping with the medical theme,
Thomas called it ESG on steroids, " but it's
much more than that. "
And it's paying dividends (literally), with
40% of American Century's profits going
to the institute, resulting in over $2 billion
since 2000. That amount of money naturally
attracts the best and brightest, and the
breakthroughs and output are a huge source
of pride for employees and clients.
Fruit Fly 401(k)
Which brought us back to the original
question--why pair a fruit fly research center
with a 401(k) institution?
" The Stowers Institute focuses on improving
lives, " Thomas noted. " Improving
longevity, disease prevention or avoidance,
regeneration, or fixing human ailments. At
[American Century], we're trying to extend
our clients' financial lives through long-term
financial planning and solutions like Income
America in providing guaranteed income for
life. The thing that really matters more than
anything else is the motivation and inspiration
it provides for employees.
" On top of the tremendous fiduciary
duty, everybody feels we have a higher
calling to make the world a better place,
through what we offer at American Century
Investments with long-term financial
planning and investing and through the
dividends we direct to research. "
American Century isn't alone in promoting
the retirement marriage of health and
wealth, yet, again, the direct relationship between
the two organizations makes it more
obvious-Stowers the health and American
Century the wealth.
" It's often a tiebreaker [with investors].
People are choosing between other firms and
us. A consultant might say we're in the finals,
all the firms are good, and they'll meet [the
plan sponsor's] objectives. And we say to them,
'Look, more than 40% of our profits go to
fund medical research,' and that's a tiebreaker.
That sense of ownership our employees feel
for this also extends to our clients. "
ISSUE 3 2022 | 401kSpecialist.com
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401(k) Specialist Issue 3 - 2022

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