News

Posts about:

Benchmarking

Cornell Clock tower with a cloudy blue sky

Supreme Court Lowers the Bar for ERISA Lawsuits

In Cunningham v. Cornell University, the Supreme Court ruled that plaintiffs bringing a claim under ERISA for a prohibited transaction are not required to plead the absence of a statutory exemption at the outset. The case involved allegations that Cornell’s 403(b) retirement plan paid its recordkeepers excessive fees — reportedly up to $200 per participant annually, compared to a claimed reasonable fee of $35 per participant.

Read More
Tissue Box

Multimillion-dollar ERISA Settlement Nothing to Sneeze at

Paper products manufacturing giant Kimberly-Clark, which counts Kleenex among its many brands, recently settled a class-action ERISA suit, agreeing to pay about 15% of the alleged damages. The $2.25 million cash settlement stems from litigation that began in 2021, which alleged that the company’s 401(k) and profit-sharing plan failed to uphold their fiduciary responsibilities. Plaintiffs claimed that plan administrators allowed excessive recordkeeping and administrative fees — approximately $78 per participant — despite the availability of similar services from other providers at just over one-third the price.

Read More
Hung up tools

Make Benchmarking Part of Your Lead Nurturing Toolkit

It can take more than 18 months to seal the deal on a retirement plan, and it often involves multiple touchpoints. To stay at the top of your mind, you need to look for opportunities to provide value at every stage of the journey. That means showing up consistently, not just with check-ins, but with actual, actionable insights. PlanFees gives advisors an easy way to lean into opportunities with a clear, customized snapshot of how your prospects’ plan fees stack up. PlanFees can help you turn a sales pitch into a dialog where you’re adding value right from the start. 

Read More
Paper hearts

Use Benchmarking to Turn Client Relationships Into Partnerships

Building strong, strategic partnerships with plan sponsors is one of the most effective ways to elevate your practice and build your book. By evolving from a transactional approach to a more collaborative relationship, you can enhance trust and deliver better outcomes for the plan, its participants, and the organization. Benchmarking tools, such as Prism Total Fees Benchmarking, Prism365, and RFP Express can play a pivotal role in driving this transformation.

Read More
Business Trends and Graphs

Trends in Advisor Compensation

Advisors across the retirement plan industry often grapple with questions about compensation models. Whether it’s determining how much to charge based on assets or deciding when to use a flat fee, these decisions are made even more complex due to evolving technology, industry changes and rising client expectations.

Read More
Holding hands at sunset

Benchmarking to Build Trust

No matter how impressive your credentials, the foundation of every advisor-client relationship is trust. According to Edelman, a leader in the communications and public relations space, trust is a core pillar of business success. This is true for the largest multinational corporation down to a small firm or solopreneur.

Read More
Green Mercedes Interior

Suit Alleges Auto Parts Supplier Fails to Steer Clear of High Fees

After several bumps in the road, a class action ERISA suit against the auto parts supplier Magna International has finally reached a settlement. The suit, which alleges that approximately 20,000 workers were adversely affected by underperforming funds and high fees, took the long road in reaching its destination. While details of the settlement are still pending, the plan in question had more than $1.6 billion in assets under management at the time of filing. 

Read More