New Commonwealth Platform Lets Advisers Pick Provider
Commonwealth Financial Network introduced a “vendor-agnostic,” fee-based retirement platform.
The firm’s Retirement Plan Consulting program provides advisers universal access to the retirement marketplace and enables them to offer advice to both plan sponsors and participants, according to Commonwealth,
independent broker/dealer–registered independent adviser (RIA) supporting 1,200 independent advisers nationwide.
To participate in the program, advisers need to hold either the Accredited Investment Fiduciary (AIF) designation or the Chartered Retirement Plans Specialist (CRPS) designation.
The platform is supported by Commonwealth’s Retirement Consulting Services (RCS) team, a group of professionals accredited with qualified plan designations. The RCS team conducts due diligence on 34 intermediary-based providers; however, advisers can work on a consulting basis with any provider of their choice, the firm said.
Consulting services offered through the program include:
- fiduciary management and oversight
- investment policy statement support
- investment selection analysis
- model portfolio construction and maintenance
- vendor search and benchmarking projects
- participant education program design and implementation
- participant advice programs.
“We’ve built a conflict-free, unbiased approach that is truly aligned with fiduciary standards and provides full transparency of fee disclosure,” said Amy Glynn, Commonwealth’s director of retirement consulting services. “Commonwealth feels that this is the right model for all constituents.”