Plan fiduciaries have many important responsibilities to uphold. And they must act solely in the interest of participants and their beneficiaries. To that end, they have to prudently manage investments, administer the plan properly, monitor service providers and much more.
But one of their most important duties is to maintain reasonable plan fees. If they don’t, the effects of high fees compound and eat into participants’ retirement account returns over time. This is why excessive fees have so often led to highly publicized and damaging ERISA lawsuits.
Even if you’re not a 3(21) or 3(38) fiduciary, staying on top of fees is one of your most important functions. Unfortunately, despite the potential consequences of failing to maintain reasonable fees, neither ERISA nor DOL defines precisely what reasonable means, which can leave advisors in a vulnerable position.
Benchmarking fees through the live-bid process allows advisors and plan sponsors to compare fees to what’s available in the marketplace. But it can take weeks to complete and is typically only conducted once every three to five years. And a lot can happen in the industry — and within an organization — during that time.
That’s why we developed three innovative solutions — so busy advisors like you have more choices when it comes to keeping retirement plan fees in check.
Prism Total Fees Benchmarking. You can conveniently benchmark recordkeeping, administrative, investment and advisory fees relative to similarly sized plans in just two minutes and with only a handful of data points. You can even generate a report directly from your mobile device.
Prism365 Advisor Fees and Services Benchmarking. When you want to take a deep dive into advisory fees, Prism365 analyzes 15 core advisory services across five key performance areas. Developed by surveying over 1,000 advisory firms and gathering data from more than 20,000 plans and service frequencies from more than 10,000 plans, this innovative and unique benchmarking tool quickly determines whether advisor fees are low, average or high, and the percentage of advisors who offer each service as part of their base fee versus as an add-on.
RFP Express. PlanFees’ latest offering provides real price quotes from top retirement plan service providers within 24 hours — and some with just one click! Generate proposals for clients and prospects to continue the fee conversation with actionable — and accurate — information.
PlanFees’ suite of benchmarking tools allows you to conveniently perform a fee benchmark annually, or as often as you deem necessary. As an advisor, helping plan sponsors and fiduciaries maintain reasonable fees is one of the most important and valuable services you can provide. PlanFees is here to help advisors manage fees effectively to offer a higher level of service to their plan sponsors and grow their book of business.
Benchmark better with PlanFees.
