An Independent Practice
Monitoring with Purpose
An investment fiduciary would be hard pressed to demonstrate a genuine commitment to fulfill their obligations without a program of regular and comprehensive review. Plan sponsors are tasked with making sure plan investments are monitored, plan provider fees are periodically benchmarked, and that these processes are well-documented. Sponsors should receive quarterly benchmarks of investments and hold in person semi-annual reviews. As an independent practice, Alignment Financial Group produces and documents this analysis for clients in a manner that ensures transparency so that all aspects of plan costs, services, and performance can be objectively evaluated.
Regularly benchmarking plan fees and performance against the market is a critical part of any retirement plan's review process. The investment team has a fiduciary responsibility to control and account for all plan expenses; to see that the expenses are prudent and are applied in the best interests of the plan participants. The Department of Labor expects sponsors to monitor the costs associated with a retirement plan including investment fees, service provider recordkeeping fees, TPA fees, and investment advisor fees. Our team has the tools to provide sponsors with a benchmark analysis detailing all fees in one convenient place and also how they compare to market norms.
The cost structure of administering retirement plans has changed drastically over the past few years due to DOL regulation. Often companies and employees needlessly pay more than the industry average for their 401(k) plans, which results in lost retirement savings for employees. If your plan has not been independently benchmarked by a third party recently, contact us to receive a free, no obligation analysis of your plan.