BrightScope gets $2M more to help you understand your retirement plan

I’ve always assumed that I’m unusually clueless when it comes to managing my finances and planning for retirement, but no, everyone else is confused too — at least according to a startup called BrightScope. Naturally, BrightScope says it can help, particularly with analyzing the 401k plans that workers use to save for retirement. The San Diego company just raised $2 million in a second round of funding.
For evidence of the widespread befuddlement it’s hoping to capitalize on, BrightScope points to data from Hewitt Associates and the AARP showing that 30 percent of workers don’t participate in 401k plans offered by their companies, while 80 percent of participants say they don’t know how much they’re paying in fees. To help employers and employees understand their plans, BrightScope says it has rated 7,000 401k plans and made those ratings available on its website.
The rating is based on more than 200 data points, including cost, the employer’s contribution, and investment options. For example, BrightScope rates Google’s 401k plan an 80 out of 100, with a “lowest fees” rating for the cost but a “below average” rating for the quality of Googlers’ investment options. BrightScope says it will rate more than 30,000 plans by the end of the year.
BrightScope also sells additional products, starting with a dashboard that allows companies’ 401k administrators to see how their ratings are calculated, to compare the fees they’re paying to others, and more.
The company previously raised $900,000. The new round was led by Jim Caccavo of Steelpoint Capital Partners.