It’s the scenario every advisor fears. A long-term client calls out of the blue. You think they’re just checking in, but when they mention how they’ve appreciated your work over the years, you begin to realize it’s a prelude to bad news. Then they drop the dreaded phrase, “We’ve decided to move in another direction …” And just like that, the client is gone.
Over the last two years, approximately 150 ERISA lawsuits challenging purportedly excessive retirement plan fees have been filed in U.S. federal court. However, more than a dozen of those cases had been put on hold pending a recent Supreme Court case — Hughes v. Northwestern University — examining the plausibility of a breach of fiduciary duty claim by current and former university retirement plan participants. In January, SCOTUS delivered its opinion, ruling that the petitioners, originally dismissed by a district court and upheld by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, did in fact plausibly state their claim. It vacated the Seventh Court ruling and remanded the case for further review.
For more than 15 years, institutional investment consulting firm Callan has released an annual survey designed to uncover industry trends and help sponsors gauge their retirement plan offering relative to others. And while the organization offers numerous insights in its 2022 Defined Contribution Trends Survey, responses from more than 100 sponsors revealed that maintaining a sharp focus on fees will be the top priority for plans in the coming year.
You may have started your career as a wealth manager and picked up a couple of small retirement plans along the way from clients who run businesses of their own. But now you want to expand your practice and begin servicing more — and larger — plans. Here are some tips to sharpen your sword as you train to be a retirement plan ninja.
Isn’t it great when things work well together? Maybe it’s the way your desktop and mobile ecosystem synchronizes across all your devices and applications, simplifying and optimizing their utility. Or perhaps you have a service provider who thoroughly understands your business and integrates seamlessly with the organization. That kind of well-oiled, frictionless fusion can enhance productivity and make your life a whole lot easier.
The retirement plan space is exciting, challenging and highly competitive. The rewards can be considerable, but it can also take significant effort to achieve and maintain them. One of the best strategies for doing just that is to clearly define your value proposition and differentiate yourself from the competition. Here are three ways to position your advisory offering to set yourself apart, build your professional brand and grow your book of business.
You’ve built up a respectable wealth management practice over the years. And many of your clients are professionals who run companies of their own. One day, a business owner you advise approaches you about taking on their 401(k) plan and you’re intrigued. You’re excited to expand into this new and exciting practice area. You’ve always been passionate about helping clients achieve a successful retirement, and this is another way to do that. Yet there are ERISA compliance issues to contend with, participant education and engagement considerations and all your additional fiduciary duties — particularly when it comes to keeping fees reasonable and transparent. Didn’t you just read about another excessive fee lawsuit in the Wall Street Journal?
You already know PlanFees is an essential tool for benchmarking your fees when closing the deal with a new client — but the power of PlanFees can also help you retain those clients you’ve worked so hard to sign. Luke Vandermillen, New Business Development Associate at , PlanFees, loves collecting success stories from advisors across the nation. As a lead on the business development team, he’s always on the move with his ear to the ground, tapping into the real-life success stories he hears from retirement plan advisors across the U.S.
The new year traditionally brings increased focus on goals and priority setting — as well as greater scrutiny on time management as a tool to help maximize those efforts. As a retirement plan advisor, you’re well aware of the many demands that compete for your time and attention including — but not limited to:
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.