Flip the Script on Retirement Plan Fees

Posted by PlanFees on Dec 16, 2021 7:00:00 AM

A retirement plan advisor’s job is multifaceted and complex. And without the right information at your disposal, it’s challenging to communicate the breadth and depth of your services — especially compared to competing providers or for similar plans. But with Prism365, the newest PlanFees benchmarking module, retirement plan advisors can quickly, easily and accurately benchmark advisory fees.

The Prism365 Advisor Fee and Service Benchmark database is based on survey data from a wide cross section of more than 1500 advisors across the U.S., reflecting the delivery and frequency of 15 essential fiduciary services:

  1. Investment menu selection and monitoring
  2. Investment committee meeting frequency
  3. 3(21) services
  4. 3(38) services
  5. Annual fee benchmarking
  6. Live bid provider benchmarking/RFP
  7. Live bid provider benchmarking/RFP frequency
  8. Plan committee education and training
  9. Fiduciary process review
  10. Fiduciary process review frequency
  11. Education & enrollment days included in base fee
  12. Fee for additional days
  13. One-on-one employee education/consulting
  14. Financial wellness program
  15. Additional value-add services

Prism365 allows you to accurately capture all your fees and services as well as the frequency with which you provide them (semi-annually, quarterly, etc.). Our robust tool allows you to paint a comprehensive picture of the scope and breadth of your offering.

The Prism365 Advisory Fees and Services Benchmark Report displays where your fees fall within the universe of comparable plans, indicating a low, average or high designation. The whole process takes just two minutes to complete, equipping you with accurate, on-demand and revealing advisor fee benchmarking data to present to plan sponsor clients and prospects.

Addressing High Fees

But what happens if the benchmark shows your fees are high? This shouldn’t be a concern for advisors providing high-quality, high-touch service. In fact, Prism365 lets you easily differentiate yourself from advisors with a bare-bones offering.

For example, if you’re an advisor who offers in-person consultations with participants more than 10 times per year, or whose retirement plan committee meets semi-annually, you can accurately substantiate the value you’re providing for your fees. After all, being on the low end of the spectrum isn’t always a good thing — just like the least expensive car may not be the most reliable or best fit for your needs.

The Prism365 report allows you to address the subject of fees in a contextualized manner and from a value-added perspective. Using our customized process, the report can serve as the starting point of a more positive and productive dialogue when servicing existing clients — or prospecting new ones.

Over the past few years, hundreds of advisors have leveraged PlanFees to make the task of benchmarking easier and more efficient. Yet one of the biggest challenges that advisors face is justifying their fees based on the services package and frequency of those services. That’s why we developed the Prism365 report — so advisors can now easily demonstrate that their fees and services are in line with the market or even better than their peers.

With PlanFees365, you can get ahead of the fee conversation without the worry of coming up short when fielding client questions. In fact, you’ll begin to welcome those conversations as they’ll easily turn into an opportunity to demonstrate and discuss value.

Flip the script on fees and turn client concerns into constructive talking points. Schedule a short, one-on-one demo today and overcome the fear of fees once and for all — with PlanFees.

Topics: Fee Benchmarking