Maintaining an appropriate retirement plan for your organization often seems like a daunting task – especially when you consider everything else that goes into running a successful business. For us, it’s one of our specialties. We will assist you with the following: 

Fiduciary Advisory Services.  We act as investment fiduciary advisors and are credentialed under the AIF^® program through FI360.  Ultimately, we are responsible for managing the investment strategy for the plan by developing the strategy, implementing, and monitoring the investments.  We do this using a prudent process for managing the investment practices which include, among other things full disclosure of our services and fees, and resolutely avoiding conflicts of interest.

Clearly defining the parameters of the specific client relationship and establishing reasonable expectations for both the client and the advisor. Developing an overall retirement plan strategy with specific goals is critical in ensuring success.

Evaluating and selecting service providers. A qualified retirement plan advisor can diagnose the particular aspects of the service delivery that are critical to your situation and recommend the most appropriate alternatives.  We are not tied to a particular provider, we’re free to recommend what is best for your company and employees.

Performing plan design consulting. A review of the plan design is very important because plan design provisions can make a big difference in whether your plan meets your needs. These provisions address matching contribution formulas, cross-tested profit sharing allocations, qualification and eligibility issues, planning around testing challenges, and merger and acquisition situations. We will work closely with the provider’s administration experts to ensure that all available aspects of plan design are considered.  We work with 401(k), 403(b), 457, Profit Sharing, Money Purchase, Defined Benefit and non-qualified plans.

Assist in designing an investment policy statement (IPS). As a plan sponsor, you can minimize your fiduciary liability by implementing an IPS. An IPS outlines a detailed, prudent plan of action for the trust’s investment managers and advisors to follow. It describes the plan’s investment philosophy, risk tolerance and long-term goals to help guide all decisions – and changes – made regarding the plan.  Because the IPS is in writing, it communicates the seriousness of the prudent process for maintaining the qualified status under ERISA.  Many retirement plan sponsors don’t have an IPS, but because we consider this an integral part of helping you develop a successful plan, we will assist you in developing your own written statements.

Managing the implementation and transition to new provider(s). This is perhaps the most challenging function of all, and is usually where most problems begin.  Most “fired” providers are not overly anxious to cooperate with new providers, so it takes a dedicated effort to ensure a smooth transition. Having one individual responsible for coordination makes the process more user-friendly for you.

Serving as the primary contact for all aspects of plan servicing. No longer will you or your employees need to wonder who to call when problems or questions arise. We’ll act as the single source responsible for managing all the moving parts and will troubleshoot as needed. Moreover, we will monitor the service providers to ensure that they continue to meet your retirement plan needs, replacing them if necessary.

Providing ongoing plan reviews. This includes: discussing overall plan service, operation and results, such as participation levels, deferral percentages, loans, non-discrimination testing, enrollment and communication strategies, and any other items of relative importance; offering a performance analysis at least annually of investments utilized by the plan versus benchmarks and/or peer groups; monitoring funds selected by the plan sponsor for style drift and correlation with fund investment objectives stated in the IPS; and providing regulatory updates such as information on legislative, Department of Labor and IRS matters of relevance to retirement plans.

Managing employee communication and investment education. We believe that coordinating enrollment meetings and providing ongoing investment education for participants regarding plan options is a valuable part of our service. That’s why we will be available to your employees by phone and, periodically, in person for individual consultation. If enrollment and/or education teams from the provider are necessary due to multiple company locations, we will coordinate those efforts. We also provide supplemental educational materials as needed.

In addition, we will educate plan participants about plan distribution alternatives, provide retirement cash flow analysis, and, whenever necessary, consult with retirees regarding investment asset allocation. 

 For further information please visit the Raymond James website for Tim Guilford’s  Retirement Plan Consulting team. 

www.raymondjames.com/timguilford