What is covered in your plan review?
Our report covers an assessment of fees as described in the list below. We also cover the various fee for service models and suggest ways to optimize what you get for what you are paying.
- Investment fund fees breakdown & comparison
- Sales charges
- Contingent deferred sales charges & surrender charges
- Asset fees not included in fund cost
- Advisory fees
- Trust and custodial fees
- Administrative costs
Investment performance and diversification analysis
- Fund by fund comparison to relevant index and Morningstar category ranking
- Examine fund diversification
- Ability for participant to construct portfolios that accomplish the individual objective (conservative/moderate, etc.)
- Are the investments in sync with any investment policies in place?
- Are fund costs reasonable given the characteristics of your plan?
- Are the investments compatible with the investment experience and retirement goals of your participants?
Plan design & administration analysis
- What administration models are available?
- Administration models defined
- Is your administration model correct for your plan?
- Are you getting more than you need, less than you need or is it just right?
- Is on-line administration appropriate for you
- A look at testing issues
- Administrator turnover
- Administration costs and who is paying them
- Procedures for distribution of SPD
- Procedures for distributing required notices and disclosures
- Procedures that ensure timely deposit of employee deferral amounts
Participant education review
- What are your plan education needs?
- Is your current provider satisfying those needs? Should they be?
- What are the education-related tools that are available to your participants
- How responsive to educational meetings are your participants?
Service provider model: is it effective for your plan?
- What service model is employed by your plan?
- Internet
- Dedicated team
- Single point of contact
- Distributed network of offices dedicated to a single test
Fiduciary and advisory services
- Just who is a fiduciary "Am I one?"
- Fiduciary compliance policies and procedures
- A discussion of fiduciary services, trustee services and advisory services
- What they cost and what you get