News

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. 

From a small family-owned business to a multinational corporation, every client — and plan — deserves the highest level of service. But the specific offering appropriate for each plan can depend largely on its size, and the fees for investments and services can range widely. By leveraging the power of negotiation, advisory know-how and frequent benchmarking, you can help keep fees reasonable for clients no matter how large or small their plan. Here’s a breakdown of how fees can differ between plans based on size.

As of March 2023, United Surgical Partners International’s 401(k) plan seemed to have a clean bill of health. A prior lawsuit alleging that the Texas-based ambulatory care company neglected its fiduciary duty by maintaining low-performing, high-cost funds in its 401(k) plan had been dismissed not once, but twice. The second opinion, however, didn’t stick. By April 2024, the company’s legal situation became more uncertain, as a federal appeals court reversed that decision and allowed the suit to proceed. The case illustrates the sometimes-protracted nature of ERISA litigation and highlights the importance of proper benchmarking as one part of a prudent, multi-pronged strategy to help avoid costly and time-consuming court proceedings.

When delivering a finalist presentation, the key to winning new business lies beyond simply laying out facts and figures. What it requires first and foremost is a connection — an understanding of the sponsors’ point of view, their goals for the plan — and the needs of their employees. You need to make a meaningful connection between fees, investments and the essential services that will allow you to help a company achieve its strategic business objectives and deliver greater value to participants.

With PlanFees, tasks that used to take hours can be completed in minutes — and price quotes that used to take weeks can be generated in under 24 hours. That gives you a valuable opportunity to enhance your level of service and build your practice. Here are just a few things you can do with all the time you’ll save. 

If you’re still lingering on the platform, it’s time to depart on a high-speed journey to revolutionize your advisory practice. RFP Express, the game-changing tool for retirement plan advisors, has revolutionized the quoting process, making it simpler, faster and more efficient for busy advisors like you to get the information you need to improve plan outcomes. Here’s a quick reminder of its unparalleled benefits and some exciting updates you might have missed.

In the evolving landscape of financial advisory services, PlanFees introduced a ground-breaking solution: RFP Express. This instant quoting tool, powered by RPAG technology, has reshaped how advisors manage and deliver services to plan sponsor clients, elevating the benchmarking process to unprecedented heights. Advisors can obtain quotes within minutes when requests meet predefined pricing criteria, and benefit from custom pricing within an astonishing one to two days — in stark contrast to the traditional weeks-long wait of live-bid benchmarking.

As a retirement plan advisor, you know small business clients can face unique challenges. With typically fewer resources to dedicate to managing retirement plans, they may rely even more heavily on your expertise and resources to guide them. For that reason, you need to be particularly mindful of efficiency — and equip yourself with the best tools available. Leveraging PlanFees’ suite of benchmarking solutions can help you provide a higher level of service without dedicating copious man-hours to help ensure clients’ plans stay competitive and compliant.

With the recent uptick in excessive fee lawsuits, it’s only natural to think of high fees as nothing but trouble for plans. After all, 401(k) fee litigation resulted in more than $150 million in corporate settlements between 2019 and 2022 alone. But while a certain degree of trepidation is warranted, don’t let fear obscure your ability to identify opportunities for improvement. 

The retirement plan industry is like a high-stakes chess game, and financial advisors need power moves to control the board and capture market share. In this competitive arena, staying ahead of the curve and offering value-added services can set you apart from the competition. In this blog post, we'll explore the key strategies and power moves that winning advisors use to thrive in the retirement plan industry.