Retirement plan advisors can play a critical role in helping you manage your company’s retirement plan. Those lucky few tagged with this responsibility (aka “Plan fiduciaries”) must act as prudent experts under ERISA (The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974) and are therefore held to a high standard of care concerning plan-related decisions.
Most prudent organizations (aka “plan sponsors”) hire an advisor to help them adhere to ERISA’s rigorous standards where — every decision you make as a fiduciary must be in the best interests of plan participants and their beneficiaries. While important, that role increasingly is the minimum standard for hiring and retaining an advisor. Leading organizations look to their advisors to help them craft a retirement program anchored in best practices – to craft a program to help your employees “to live a great life”. Here are a few things to keep in mind.
Attributes of a Good Advisor
Attributes of a Good Advisor | Why It Should Be Important To You |
---|---|
Independence | Ability to provide advice and counsel objectively and without conflict |
Familiarity with ERISA | Ability to keep you updated on litigation, legislation and regulations impacting plans and fiduciaries |
Prudent Expert | An ERISA requirement that fiduciaries act with the skill, knowledge, and expertise of a prudent expert |
Expertise with Plan Options | Ability to help your plan meet its goals and objectives while maintaining fiduciary excellence |
Knowledge of the Marketplace | Ability to ensure that your plan is being administered in the most efficient and cost-effective manner |
Qualified Plan Investment Expertise | Ability to ensure that your plan’s investments are selected and monitored prudently. |
Documentation Skills | Ability to demonstrate procedural prudence in a well-documented manner |
Communication Skills | Ability to educate employees and fiduciaries in a manner that helps the plan reach its goals and objectives |
Acceptance of Role as a Co-Fiduciary | Willingness to acknowledge in writing that they are a co-fiduciary to your plan |
Full and Open Disclosure | Fully and openly discloses all sources of fees being received |
Responsibility for providing a retirement plan can be daunting, we are dedicated to helping you create and maintain a great plan. Reach out to start a conversation.
David Lemire, Senior Advisor and Head of Retirement Plans
This document is not intended as and does not constitute legal advice. Plan fiduciaries are urged to seek the advice of their attorneys as to their precise duties, responsibilities, and liabilities.
About Strategic
Founded in 1979, Strategic is a leading investment and wealth management firm managing and advising on client assets of over $1.8 billion.
OverviewDisclosures
Strategic Financial Services, Inc. is a SEC-registered investment advisor. The term “registered” does not imply a certain level of skill or training. “Registered” means the company has filed the necessary documentation to maintain registration as an investment advisor with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The information contained on this site is for informational purposes and should not be considered investment advice or a recommendation of any particular security, strategy or investment product. Every client situation is different. Strategic manages customized portfolios that seek to properly reflect the particular risk and return objectives of each individual client. The discussion of any investments is for illustrative purposes only and there is no assurance that the adviser will make any investments with the same or similar characteristics as any investments presented. The investments identified and described do not represent all of the investments purchased or sold for client accounts. Any representative investments discussed were selected based on a number of factors including recent company news or earnings release. The reader should not assume that an investment identified was or will be profitable. All investments contain risk and may lose value. There is no assurance that any investments identified will remain in client accounts at the time you receive this document.
Some of the material presented is based upon forward-looking statements, information and opinions, including descriptions of anticipated market changes and expectations of future activity. Strategic Financial Services believes that such statements, information, and opinions are based upon reasonable estimates and assumptions. However, forward-looking statements, information and opinions are inherently uncertain and actual events or results may differ materially from those reflected in the forward-looking statements. Therefore, undue reliance should not be placed on such forward-looking statements, information and opinions.
No content on this website is intended to provide tax or legal advice. You are advised to seek advice on these matters from separately retained professionals.
All index returns, unless otherwise noted, are presented as price returns and have been obtained from Bloomberg. Indices are unmanaged and cannot be purchased directly by investors.