Work With Me
TWO WAYS TO WORK WITH ME
There are two distinct ways I can help you evaluate and improve your retirement plan.
One-Time Retirement Plan Evaluation
An independent, comprehensive examination of your existing retirement plan, with consulting access for up to one year as you decide what to do next.
Ongoing Retirement Plan Consulting & Financial Advisory
An ongoing relationship in which I can serve as your retirement-plan financial advisor and help your company and its retirement plan participants throughout the life of the plan.
You can start with the evaluation without deciding in advance whether I will become your retirement plan advisor.
One-Time Retirement Plan Evaluation
Understand what you have before deciding what to do next.
A retirement plan should be evaluated based on more than a fee benchmark or a comparison with another plan.
I examine your existing arrangement to help you understand what you're paying, what your providers are doing, what participants are receiving, and whether the economics of the arrangement make sense.
The evaluation can include:
Provider Compensation and Fees
I examine what your financial advisor, recordkeeper, and third-party administrator are being paid, how they are compensated, who is paying those expenses, and how compensation has changed.
Services and Value
I examine what each provider is responsible for, what services are actually being delivered, and whether the compensation being paid is reasonable in relation to the work being performed.
The History of the Arrangement
Where the information is available, I examine how plan assets, participant counts, employer and employee contributions, provider compensation, providers, plan design, and investments have changed over time.
Investment Costs and Advisor Compensation
I examine who is actually paying plan expenses, how those expenses are allocated, and the economic and tax implications of paying expenses from participant accounts versus having the employer pay reasonable plan expenses directly.
Employer-paid and Participant-paid Expenses
I examine fund share classes and their expenses, 12b-1 fees, and sub-transfer agent fees to determine how the investment platform affects the costs and compensation paid to service providers.
The Investment Platform
I examine what your current recordkeeper actually makes available through its investment platform, including investment options, share classes, costs, restrictions, and features such as brokerage-account availability, restrictions, and costs that affect the economics or operation of the plan. Where a plan has particular investment requirements, I may compare specific recordkeeping or custodial platforms to determine whether those investments and features are available and whether the platforms' restrictions or costs would affect the plan.
General Investment Education
I can provide general education about diversification, correlation, investment risk, investment expenses, and different investment approaches. This education is intended to help employers and participants better understand investment concepts and does not include recommendations to purchase, sell, or hold particular securities or investment products.
Providers and Alternatives
I can help you evaluate your existing financial advisor, recordkeeper, and third-party administrator and, when appropriate, evaluate alternative service providers.
An Evaluation doesn't begin with the assumption that something is wrong.
It begins with understanding what you already have.
A new provider may show you something it can offer that appears better than your current arrangement. But you may already have access to that capability, or your existing providers may be able to make the change without replacing them.
Compensation may be negotiable.
Services provided by existing providers may be modified.
Your existing recordkeeper may have options you didn't know were available.
Or replacing a provider may actually make sense.
Understand your existing arrangement before deciding whether anything should be replaced.
What Happens After the Evaluation?
The evaluation is designed to help you make a better decision, not to require you to make a particular decision.
You can use the findings to:
work with your existing advisor;
negotiate provider compensation;
modify the services provided by existing providers or eliminate services that are no longer needed;
evaluate whether the existing investment platform provides the investment options, share classes, costs, and features the plan needs;
change how expenses are allocated;
improve your existing arrangement;
evaluate a different financial advisor;
evaluate recordkeepers;
evaluate third-party administrators;
or decide that no change is necessary.
Your engagement includes consulting access for up to one year.
That gives you time to consider the findings, ask questions, speak with providers, negotiate changes, and evaluate alternatives.
You don't have to decide everything when you receive the evaluation.
If, after considering the findings, you ultimately decide that you want an ongoing retirement plan advisor, you can choose the advisor that is right for your plan.
Take the Next Step
Ongoing Retirement Plan Consulting & Financial Advisory
The Advisor Model Nobody Else Runs
The retirement plan is my client.
I am a financial advisor, but my practice is built around serving employer-sponsored retirement plans—not using the plan primarily as a way to acquire individual wealth-management relationships.
I don't manage individual participant assets or accept rollover business.
My compensation is based on a fixed fee in dollars rather than automatically increasing as plan assets increase. That creates a different relationship between the employer and the advisor.
The services are defined. I send quarterly invoices with compensation stated in dollars, whether the fee is paid by plan participants or the employer. The fee does not automatically increase simply because plan assets increase.
Defining the services and making the cost visible makes the relationship easier to evaluate and hold accountable.
A plan that grows from $5 million to $10 million does not necessarily require twice as much advisory work. My compensation does not automatically double simply because the plan's assets have doubled. It remains the same unless we mutually agree to change it based on a change in the services or needs of the plan.
Retirement plan advice should be purchased like other professional services: based on the services provided and the value created, rather than simply on the amount of money in the account.
What I Can Do as Your Retirement Plan Advisor
My role can include both plan-level services and participant education and support.
Plan-Level Services
Evaluate and negotiate financial advisor compensation
Evaluate, select, and monitor recordkeepers
Evaluate, select, and monitor third-party administrators
Review plan fees and provider compensation
Evaluate investment platforms
Evaluate and monitor investment lineups
Review plan design and features
Help employers evaluate and implement changes
Help establish clear expectations for service providers
Help employers evaluate their retirement-plan responsibilities
Participant Education & Support
Retirement-plan education
Individual participant meetings
Contribution and savings education
Traditional versus Roth education
Investment education
Diversification and correlation
Understanding investment risk
Retirement goal setting
Helping employees understand and use their retirement plan effectively
I also document the services provided to each plan, including the date, duration, participants, subject matter, and nature of substantive client interactions and other work performed. This provides a clear record of the work performed on behalf of the plan and helps both the plan sponsor and me evaluate the relationship based on the services provided and value created.
For larger plans, I can also work alongside an existing plan-level advisor when that arrangement makes sense. If another advisor is providing plan-level investment or fiduciary services, I can focus on participant education and individual participant support rather than duplicating that advisor's role.
Why My Approach Is Different
My experience comes from looking at retirement plans from both sides of the relationship.
Since 2009, I have examined what retirement-plan providers are paid and what they provide, while documenting thousands of conversations with the employers responsible for purchasing those services. I have reviewed retirement plans year after year, building a longitudinal record of provider compensation, services, plan characteristics, and purchasing decisions.
For each plan, I have tracked information reported on its Form 5500, including plan design, provider compensation, employer and employee contributions, number of participants, plan assets, and, for plans with 120 or more participants, the investments and service providers reported on Schedule C.
My longitudinal research gives me a uniquely informed perspective on provider compensation, services, plan characteristics, and purchasing decisions that comes from observing these relationships repeatedly over many years.
The Evaluation Can Stand Alone
The One-Time Evaluation is a complete engagement. You do not have to hire me as your advisor.
I don't use the Evaluation as a way to solicit an ongoing investment advisory relationship. For three years following delivery of the Evaluation, I will not solicit you for ongoing investment advisory or fiduciary advisory services relating to your retirement plan.
You can use the findings to make your own decision about what, if anything, to change. If you later decide that you want ongoing assistance, you can contact me about an ongoing advisory relationship after that period.
Ongoing Consulting & Financial Advisory
You want me to remain involved and help your company and its retirement plan participants manage and improve the retirement plan over time.
I become your retirement plan financial advisor and provide the ongoing services your plan needs.
The evaluation can therefore be the beginning of an advisory relationship, but it doesn't have to be.
Retirement plan services should be purchased with the same discipline employers apply to other professional services.
My fees are stated in dollars rather than automatically increasing with plan assets.
All fees are customized based on the size, complexity, and needs of the plan.
The objective isn't simply to reduce fees.
It's to ensure every dollar a plan spends reflects real value.
How I Charge:
Start With the Decision You Need to Make
If you aren't sure whether your current arrangement is providing good value, you don't have to start by replacing anyone.
Start by understanding what you already have.