"Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value."
– Albert Einstein
Benchmarking your 401k Plan Advisor
How many boxes does your advisor check?
Employer Services
[ ] Fiduciary Status – Is your financial advisor a named co-fiduciary? Declaring fiduciary status is critical so plan sponsor knows that their financial advisor has skin in the game and shares their liability.
[ ] Plan Advocate –Supporting plan sponsor with “plan huddles” if things go sideways with vendors.
[ ] Provider Analysis (RFP) – Live “shop the market” every 4 years as recommended by the DOL.
[ ] IPS and Committee Charter – Assisting clients with establishing key plan documents.
[ ] Quarterly Fund Monitoring – Manage, watch, and replace process as recommended by DOL.
[ ] Annual Service Plan – Satisfies DOL requirement for explicitly stating services to be paid a fee from plan assets.
[ ] Annual Fiduciary Review – Plan health is measured through key plan stats (participation/deferral rates).
[ ] Plan Design Review – Optimizing the outcome for plan sponsor and participants through plan design.
[ ] Annual Fee Benchmarking – Investment, Record keeping, TPA, and Advisory fees.
[ ] Target Date Fund Analysis – Best-fit and glide path analysis (DOL).
[ ] CITs – Special pricing on CITs to lower investment cost below institutional funds
[ ] Committee Meeting Minutes – Providing meeting minutes to document annual fiduciary review.
[ ] Fiduciary Briefcase – Systematic documentation of the fiduciary governance process.
Participant Services
[ ] Retirement Readiness Newsletter – Timely and important investing and retirement topics emailed monthly- (opt out).
[ ] Individual Information/Enrollment Sessions – One-on-one opportunity for employees to learn about their retirement plan benefit.
[ ] Group Education Meetings – Plan Specific group education meetings.
[ ] Ages and Stages – Age-appropriate Financial Planning seminars offered by a CFP®.
[ ] Financial Wellness Program – Enhanced participant education and support.