On a recent LinkedIn Live, Chris Augelli from T. Rowe Price and I talked through common fiduciary misperceptions and what you SHOULD be paying attention to in your retirement plan. What can we learn from the litigation that’s been making headlines recently?

It’s RFP season for retirement plan advisors, so it’s a good time to discuss the selection process, what mistakes we see committees make, and how to make the whole process go more smoothly…for everyone.

Choosing a new investment advisor for your plan can be a cumbersome, complex task, and due diligence is required - you don’t want to just pick the first advisor you come across. But what should the process look like and how can you spend the least amount of time on the task while still getting the maximum impact?

Yesterday I had the pleasure of speaking on an American Bar Association webinar sponsored by the Joint Committee on Employee Benefits. Webinars are always difficult -- there's so much information to get through that valuable nuggets often get left out. Here are the last minute deletions:

Conducting an RFP for a new retirement plan provider? Here are five important questions to ask during your due diligence.

The number one way to shorten your RFP process? Use a Retirement Planologist. (Retirement Planologist: one who specializes in providing consulting and advisory to retirement plans.) Why?

Here are tips for how to shop for a new retirement plan vendor. It’s really important to recognize that you need to choose well so your participants are happy and so you’re happy administering the plan. After all, this is a benefit. And, since you’re responsible for handling other people’s money, this isn’t a decision to be taken lightly.

Department of Labor regulations, ERISA, and specifically section 408(b)(2), require that plan sponsors obtain fee disclosures for their plan and that all such fees be “reasonable” for the services provided. Unfortunately, retirement plan fees have become increasingly complex in how they are collected and the marketplace is ever changing! Understanding value is tough.

Let’s start this one off by asking, when was the last time you looked at the retirement plan marketplace to see what was new? Besides margins decreasing, vendors have been working diligently to stay competitive and offer new features and programs. Don’t get me wrong, there’s a lot of stuff that is craptastic, but occasionally there are insights or attributes that would be really helpful to your plan.

1)        Have a sound reason for changing to a new provider. That reason could be: improved service, less administrative burden, better tools and resources for participants, more plan sponsor support services, more access to a broader range of investments, and so on. 

A company requested that we submit a proposal for performing investment due diligence. They had searched for a new plan provider and wanted to compare the proposed investment lineup that the provider was suggesting against the investments in their current plan lineup to determine whether to switch. They were seeking proposals for this service from several advisors, I'm sure.

Searching for a new vendor to handle your retirement plan is a pain. Here’s some unsolicited advice.