Lisa Shidler

What post-mortems of 401(k) and 403(b) deals that got away tell advisors how plan sponsors think – and it’s not mainly about price

Yaqub Ahmed: A lot of the final decision came down to actual conversations that happened between the advisor and plan sponsor.

Franklin Templeton

403(b)

Chatham Partners

Cammack LaRhette Consulting

Yaqub Ahmed

Mike Sanders

The days when RIAs were the outsiders at the 401(k) party are fast coming to a close. What's new is that the mass of 401(k) assets 
is getting critical at about $3 trillion; fiduciary advisors are getting appreciated; fat fees and questionable kickbacks are getting exposed and stepping out of line is getting dicier as the Department of Labor tightens the regulatory screws.

The old reasons why the 401(k) business is attractive are still in place: there are fresh assets pouring in every month and when employees leave jobs or retire, they produce rollovers that build up IRA accounts for financial advisors. The drawbacks of getting into the 401(k) business are still in place, too. Dealing with retirement assets is really a second line of business and it remains -- unless you overcharge with hidden fees -- a low margin business with high potential fiduciary liabilities.

Still, the outsourcers, infrastructure and accumulated knowledge for RIAs to capitalize on is growing daily and a the mega-shift of assets away from brokers is making the 401(k) business riskier and riskier -- to ignore.

401(k) Stories

A Franklin Templeton study extruded the hard truth from ax-wielders that would rather just say 'no thanks' as they administer the cut

What post-mortems of 401(k) and 403(b) deals that got away tell advisors how plan sponsors think – and it’s not mainly about price

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