Finance

By Mark Olsen, Managing Director at PlanPILOT

Choosing the right advisor is essential for employers who want to offer their employees a high-quality retirement plan. The right advisor can help plan sponsors navigate the complex world of retirement planning, keep them up to date with the changing landscape of legal and regulatory requirements, and verify that the plan meets the needs of the company and its employees. However, not all advisor partnerships are created equal, and plan sponsors need to assess the suitability of potential advisors before making a decision. Read on to learn more about what to look for in a qualified plan consultant and how you can make the best decision for your company.

Client Services

A clear and effective client services model is essential for building a successful partnership between the plan sponsor and advisor. Plan sponsors should ask potential advisors about their approach to client service, including their communication and reporting practices, and how they handle your questions and concerns. 

The advisor should have a well-defined client services model that aligns with your expectations and needs. This includes flexibility with virtual versus in-person meetings, proactive decision support when significant regulatory changes occur (e.g., SECURE 2.0), as well as the availability of online resources, such as educational materials and calculators. A commitment to client services is the foundation for a strong advisor partnership.

Conflict-Free Business Model

Another important factor to consider when assessing the suitability of advisor partnerships for retirement plan sponsors is the advisor’s business model. Plan sponsors should look for advisors who have a conflict-free business model, which means they don’t receive any compensation from third-party providers for recommending their investment products or services. This is important because it ensures that the advisor’s recommendations are based solely on the best interests of the plan sponsor and its participants, rather than any financial incentives. 

You’ll also want to assess whether the advisor is acting as a fiduciary and if so are they willing to put that in writing in the client agreement. A fiduciary is an advisor who is legally obligated to act in the best interests of the plan sponsor and its participants. Fiduciary advisors must avoid conflicts of interest, disclose all fees and compensation, and provide impartial advice. Be sure to ask potential advisors if they are fiduciaries and how they plan to fulfill their fiduciary responsibilities.

References and Reputation

Anyone can say they are a fiduciary with a robust client services model, but the proof is truly in the pudding when it comes to whether they can back up those statements with a strong reputation and positive client references. When assessing the suitability of advisor partnerships for retirement plan sponsors, it is crucial to consider the advisor’s years of experience, client feedback, responsiveness to client questions, communication skills, and the number of clients serviced.

Plan sponsors should also ask potential advisors for references and speak to current or former clients about their experiences working with the advisor. This can provide important firsthand knowledge about the advisor’s strengths, weaknesses, and overall suitability for the plan sponsor’s needs. Through speaking with references, you can gain a more complete picture of the advisor’s capabilities to be confident you’re making an informed decision.

How PlanPilot Can Help

At PlanPILOT, our well-developed client services model, commitment to conflict-free business, and stellar reputation have set us apart from other qualified plan consultants for over 20 years. We are dedicated to creating and maintaining the best plans for you and your employees. If you’re ready to take the next step with your employer-sponsored retirement plan, we would love to hear from you. Call us at (312) 973-4913 or email mark.olsen@PlanPILOT.com to get started today.

About Mark

Mark Olsen is the managing director at PlanPILOT, an independent retirement plan consulting firm headquartered in Chicago. PlanPILOT delivers comprehensive retirement plan advisory services to 401(k), 403(b), and 457 plan sponsors. His specialties include plan governance, investment searches, investment monitoring, and plan oversight. Mark is recognized as a leader in the industry and speaks at national conferences, including those organized by Pensions & Investments, Stable Value Investment Association, and CUPA-HR.

By Mark Olsen, Managing Director at PlanPILOT

Planning for the year ahead is critical to ensure we are prepared to meet our clients’ needs and deliver valuable insights in a timely manner. In this article, we outline the themes and activities we expect to be key priorities in our work with clients throughout 2023, as well as inform our thought leadership in the year ahead. 

Beyond “If and When”, Onto “What to Do”

We first want to share that we are picking up on a shift in the way plan sponsors are operating in oversight of defined contribution (DC) plans. In fact, through our work, we’ve observed plan sponsors want to know what to do, the best way to tackle problems and seek solutions, and to understand the practical implications of their activities in plan oversight. We anticipate this shift to underpin all of our work with clients in the year ahead.

Top Priority Themes

• Changing Landscape and Assessing Suitability of Advisor Partnerships.  The retirement provider landscape — in whole — is layered with complexity and the potential for conflicts of interest. Increasing merger and acquisition activity among providers to support the growing need to identify sustainable revenue streams and the push for product placement, and it adds up to a complex arena for plan sponsors to navigate when selecting a partner in retirement plan oversight. Plan sponsors face the need to assess matters of independence and to ensure their advisor is philosophically aligned to their organization’s values, objectives, and needs. The changing landscape and concern over conflicts of interest brings into focus the importance for committees to conduct thorough due diligence and assess the suitability of their provider partnerships. It is our belief that it is vital to ensure that the priorities of both the client and the advisor are in alignment.  This topic will be a central tenet in our work with clients for the year ahead.

 

• Collective Investment Trusts in 403(b) Plans – Institutional employer-sponsored DC retirement plans, including 401(k) plans and governmental 401(a) and 457(b) plans, have enjoyed the benefits of collective investment trusts (CITs) for the better part of fifteen years. Over the last several years, legislators have worked to pave the way to allow CIT use in 403(b) plans, which is currently not permitted. In late December 2022, SECURE 2.0 passed (1), opening up the potential use of CITs in 403(b) plans. There was a loophole in the final regulations which requires a revision to federal securities law in order for CITs, as well as pooled Stable Value funds to be permitted in 403(b) plans. There are pros and cons to CITs, but in aggregate, the greatest benefit is cost efficiency. We expect the topic to be front and center in 2023 as we prepare our clients for using these vehicles in 403(b) plans. 

 

• Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Finalized – All eyes have been on ESG over the last several years. Actual implementation and use of ESG options in DC plans have remained fairly lackluster to date. However, the overall interest in ESG is not dying down. In fact, the complexity of the topic is increasing – with much debate about the value proposition of ESG and the question of how, and even if, plan sponsors should incorporate ESG in DC plans. The Department of Labor’s Final Rule on ESG – Prudence and Loyalty in Selecting Plan Investments and Exercising Shareholder Rights (2) clarifies that the changes to the regulation enable fiduciaries to factor in the impact of a broader range of ESG factors on investments. The DOL clarified that the amended regulation continues to require fiduciaries focus on relevant risk-return factors. It also makes clear that fiduciaries cannot take on excessive risk or sacrifice returns in the ESG pursuit. We anticipate the debate and evaluation process to continue as plan fiduciaries consider ESG investing. 

 

• Custom Qualified Default Investment Alternatives (QDIA) – Last year, we wrote about the broad range of QDIA offerings and the evolution in the choice of solutions. In 2023, we anticipate the demand for customization of the default alternative in defined contribution plans to gain momentum. The appeal of a custom solution is that it allows for tailoring of the glide path and underlying investments to your plan objectives and investment beliefs. Often, custom solutions are more appealing to larger plans as scale and buying power make the endeavor more cost effective. As DC plans continue to grow and evolve, we expect this trend to be a focus area in 2023 in our work with clients, particularly given the ability to tailor the design of the default to the unique needs of individual plans. The assessment process for selection, implementation, and monitoring is vital to get right, and it is now more important than ever given the role of the default offering in achieving successful retirement outcomes. 

 

 

• Retirement Income Solutions – In our paper series last year, we covered the broad array of solutions and provided suggestions for plan sponsors in the retirement income pursuit. We expect 2023 to bring more deliberate retirement income solution assessments and pursuits. Specifically, plan sponsors are moving toward assessments that review retirement income offerings based on the unique characteristics of the offering and alignment to plan needs. In other words, retirement income pursuits are aimed at integrating a solution or a range of solutions for purpose.

 

 

• Raising Risk Literacy in Plan Oversight – We covered how risk comes in many forms in our paper series last year. The last year has accentuated this point – bringing into focus the reality of experiencing these various risks inside of retirement plans. Inflation has remained high, interest rates have been on a steady increasing trajectory, volatility and downside risk have crept into the market environment, and participants understandably are reacting, with 401(k) withdrawals on the rise and hardship withdrawals at an all-time high in 2022. (3) The reality of the range and impact of the various risks faced in retirement plan oversight, and ultimately affecting participants, will be central to plan sponsor work in 2023.

 

• Importance of Staying Vigilant with Litigation on the Rise – The number of class action 401(k) and 403(b) lawsuits in 2022 was significant, due in part to the U.S. Supreme Court decision vacating a Seventh Circuit decision (4) in early 2022. The decision makes it easier for plaintiff lawsuits to survive motions to dismiss. As a result, we can expect this steady trend of lawsuits connected to plan monitoring and excessive fees to remain in focus… requiring plan sponsors to stay vigilant in their plan work.

Stay Tuned!

These themes… and more will shape our work and inform our client partnerships in 2023. You can expect us to produce thought leadership to illuminate the importance of each of these priorities, as well as provide actionable insights for you and your committee to leverage in your day-to-day plan oversight. Rest assured that we are prepared to help our clients tackle these topics effectively. We also welcome and value your input. If there are topics you would like us to add to our thought leadership list, please get in touch with us. 

About Mark

Mark Olsen is the managing director at PlanPILOT, an independent retirement plan consulting firm headquartered in Chicago. PlanPILOT delivers comprehensive retirement plan advisory services to 401(k), 403(b), and 457 plan sponsors. His specialties include plan governance, investment searches, investment monitoring, and plan oversight. Mark is recognized as a leader in the industry and speaks at national conferences, including those organized by Pensions & Investments, Stable Value Investment Association, and CUPA-HR.

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(1) Securing a Strong Retirement Act of 2022, H.R. 2954 https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/2954/text

(2) https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2022/12/01/2022-25783/prudence-and-loyalty-in-selecting-plan-investments-and-exercising-shareholder-rights

(3) Source: Vanguard https://corporate.vanguard.com/content/corporatesite/us/en/corp/articles/vanguard-investor-pulse.html

(4) https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/21pdf/19-1401_m6io.pdf

By Mark Olsen, Managing Director at PlanPILOT

When it comes to investing, the term diversification is often thrown around—often along with the age-old phrase “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.” But what does it mean to diversify, and how can you make sure your portfolio is diverse?

Even if your understanding of diversification is already solid, to better understand how you can reduce volatility in an uncertain market, it’s helpful to review its benefits.

Minimize Risk

One primary role of diversification is to minimize risk in the stock market. This doesn’t just mean diversifying between growth stocks and value stocks. True diversification requires incorporating a mix of different types of investments—think stocks, bonds, international investments, real estate, etc.

There are varying factors that govern the amount of risk you’re willing to accept. If you are banking on your money being there for you on a certain date, it may align better with your financial plan to utilize a more conservative mix of investment assets with a history of lower volatility. Having a portfolio that is diversified with lower risk will give you peace of mind.

As we mix and match asset classes and strategies, risk-capacity decisions need to be made no matter the timeline length. By optimizing the way your portfolio is constructed, we can help minimize risk and maximize returns.

Increase Your Potential for Added Gains

Since its inception in 1926, the average return from the S&P 500 has been 10-11%. Learning a bit of stock market history often puts many at ease when deciding to move money from a savings account into the stock market.

Downturns and recessions are certain realities during one’s lifetime, but those are the same reasons why many wealth managers suggest taking a long-term view on investing. Simply keeping your money in the stock market versus quickly buying and selling is a risk-mitigation strategy of its own.

These downturns also pose new opportunities. Take the global pandemic, for example: 2020 created a unique window of opportunity. Certain high-growth investments performed exceptionally well as the economy reacted to COVID-19, while the brief drop in the market made some value investments available at deeply discounted prices. 2020 provides an example of how investments respond differently to economy-wide shifts, which underscores the importance of diversification as a hedge against both short and long-term losses.

Because of the unpredictability associated with short-term stock market success, diversification and investing according to when you need the money can help you reach your goal with more confidence when compared to putting all your eggs into one basket. 

The Ideal Mix

Perfection is notoriously unattainable, so calling an investment mix “ideal” can feel like a loaded term. Everyone has their own unique goals, dreams, timelines, and risk capacity—what’s ideal for one may not be ideal for another. In general, the closer you are to retirement, the more conservative investment mix you might hold. Remember that portfolios can change with time; that’s the beauty of the stock market—you can change your portfolio as your goals evolve. 

Ready for the Next Step? 

As with anything related to your hard-earned wealth, when it comes to investment decisions, it’s wise to meet with a financial professional—someone who can learn about your personal circumstances and tailor their advice to your specific financial goals. 

At PlanPILOT, we are committed to guiding you toward success so you can feel confident in your financial future. If you’re looking to partner with an experienced advisor you can trust to put you first, set up a get-acquainted meeting to see if we’re a good fit. Call us at (312) 973-4913 or email mark.olsen@PlanPILOT.com. 

About Mark

Mark Olsen is the managing director at PlanPILOT, an independent retirement plan consulting firm headquartered in Chicago. PlanPILOT delivers comprehensive retirement plan advisory services to 401(k), 403(b), and 457 plan sponsors. His specialties include plan governance, investment searches, investment monitoring, and plan oversight. Mark is recognized as a leader in the industry and speaks at national conferences, including those organized by Pensions & Investments, Stable Value Investment Association, and CUPA-HR.

By Nate Cassel, Senior Consultant at PlanPILOT

Managing an employer-sponsored retirement plan can be challenging, especially if it’s a plan that has experienced significant participant growth without the administrative infrastructure to support it. As the plan grows, the management should adapt and grow with it. Unfortunately, for many employers, that’s not always the case. That’s where PlanPILOT comes in. 

We can help plan sponsors simplify the implementation and management of their plans, freeing up time and energy for other important projects. But don’t just take our word for it. Here’s one example of how we helped a recent client streamline their employer-sponsored retirement plan. 

The Client

In this case, our client was a large Texas community college that had seen tremendous growth in recent years. Their part-time employee population had grown exponentially by the time we started working with them, but their retirement plan for part-timers had not been evaluated since it was first established in the early 1990s. 

The Goal

Since this part-time retirement plan is a mandatory contribution plan that replaces Social Security for these employees, it is crucial that it is:

• Easy to administer
• Understandable and “automatic”
• Streamlined to cash out all permitted balances automatically

This was not the case when PlanPILOT was hired. The client had one person dedicated to taking care of almost 10,000 participant accounts, answering questions from confused employees, verifying paper forms for distributions, and fixing employee account issues. 

There was a lot of inefficiency with how the plan was being managed on a day-to-day basis. PlanPILOT was hired to help alleviate this issue.

The Outcome

As part of our process, we led the client through a complete and comprehensive Request for Proposal so they could evaluate their options for a new recordkeeper and third-party plan administrator. Our vetting and facilitation of this process allowed the client to:

• Select a fully automated solution with a national recordkeeper that has extensive experience working with their type of plan.
• Cash out nearly 2,000 small balances, reducing plan liability and future administrative burden.
• Outsource virtually all customer service questions to the recordkeeper, allowing the internal dedicated employee to transition to other needed projects.
• Improve the investment options available within the plan and adopt a best-in-class, comprehensive mutual fund line-up with quarterly fiduciary monitoring.

Working with PlanPILOT was an instrumental part in streamlining the recordkeeping, administration and management of this client’s part-time retirement plan. 

Do You Need Help Streamlining Your Retirement Plan?

If you are a plan sponsor experiencing a similar issue, or if you would like a second set of eyes on your current plan’s management, please reach out to us! At PlanPILOT, we have the tools and expertise to help plan sponsors update their plans to keep up with the evolving needs of employees and federal regulations. To learn more about our process, call us at (312) 809-3603 or email nate.cassel@PlanPILOT.com..

About Nate

Nate Cassel is a Senior Consultant at PlanPILOT, an independent retirement plan consulting firm headquartered in Chicago. PlanPILOT delivers comprehensive retirement plan advisory services to 401(k), 403(b), and 457 plan sponsors. His specialties include plan governance, plan design, product evolution, and plan oversight. Nate has over thirty years of experience in the retirement plan arena helping plan sponsors provide better plan outcomes for their employees while lowering institutional risk.