PLANADVISER Announces 2015 Advisers’ Choice Award Winners

PLANADVISER announced today the winners of the second annual Advisers’ Choice Awards, to be handed out at its annual PLANSPONSOR/PLANADVISER Awards for Excellence dinner. The event will be held on March 31 at Pier 60 of the Chelsea Piers in New York City.

Nine firms will be honored for their high-ranking performance in four of distinct categories, taken from the eighth annual PLANADVISER Retirement Plan Adviser Survey. Over 600 retirement plan advisers participated in the survey and supplied their picks for their preferred fund families, investment firms and defined contribution (DC) providers, as well as the mutual funds they most often recommended to their defined contribution plan clients.

The firms receiving Advisers’ Choice Awards at the dinner include:

  • American Funds
  • Fidelity Investments
  • Great-West Retirement Services (now Empower)
  • John Hancock Retirement Plan Services
  • J.P. Morgan
  • Principal Financial Group
  • T. Rowe Price
  • Transamerica Retirement Services
  • Vanguard

The survey results were profiled in the November–December 2014 issue of PLANADVISER magazine. The results are also available online here.

“The Advisers’ Choice Awards were a great addition to our awards program last year, and we are thrilled to continue this recognition again this year. Advisers’ opinions are a critical component of investment and plan provider service, and we want to make sure these opinions are heard,” said Alison Cooke Mintzer, editor in chief of PLANADVISER and PLANSPONSOR.

Details of this year’s selections are as follows:

Top Fund Families Preferred by Plan Advisers

Rank

Vanguard

1

American Funds

2

T. Rowe Price

3

J.P. Morgan

4

Fidelity Investments

5

 

 

Top-Rated Investment Firms

Category

J.P. Morgan

Adviser support/value-added services

Fidelity Investments

Participant education materials

Fidelity Investments

Plan participant support

Fidelity Investments

Plan sponsor education materials

Vanguard

Investment value for price

Vanguard

Reputation

Fidelity Investments

Supporting materials

J.P. Morgan

Wholesalers

American Funds

Fund fact sheets

J.P. Morgan

Quarterly evaluation materials

Fidelity Investments

Plan sponsor support

 

 

Top-Rated DC Providers

Category

Great-West Retirement Services (now Empower)

    Best overall service, micro plans

Great-West Retirement Services (now Empower)

    Best overall service, small plans

Fidelity Investments

    Best overall service, midsize plans

Fidelity Investments

    Best overall service, large plans

Fidelity Investments

    Best overall service, mega plans


John Hancock Retirement Plan Services

    Adviser sales/marketing support

Principal Financial Group

    Adviser support, post-sale

Great-West Retirement Services (now Empower)

    Fee structure for advisers

John Hancock Retirement Plan Services

    Participant education materials

Fidelity Investments

    Plan sponsor education materials

Transamerica Retirement Services

    Plan sponsor support

Fidelity Investments

    Supporting materials

Fidelity Investments

    Plan participant support


John Hancock Retirement Plan Services

    Value-added adviser services

Fidelity Investments

    Reputation

Great-West Retirement Services (now Empower)

    Best wholesalers

Great-West Retirement Services (now Empower)

    Best value for price

Great-West Retirement Services (now Empower)

    Overall perception

Fidelity Investments

    Overall perception

Transamerica Retirement Services

    Overall perception

Vanguard

    Overall perception

American Funds Distributors

    Overall perception

 

 

Most Recommended Mutual Funds

Rank

Vanguard 500 Index

1

American Funds Euro Pacific Growth

2

T. Rowe Price Target Date Funds

3

J.P. Morgan SmartRetirement Target-Date Funds

4

Vanguard Target Retirement

5

 

 



About the PLANSPONSOR/PLANADVISER Awards for Excellence 
 
The PLANSPONSOR/PLANADVISER Awards for Excellence is the annual networking event to celebrate the accomplishments of the best of the best in the retirement plan industry. Each year, the nation’s leading retirement plan sponsors and advisers, as well as the industry’s top product, investment and service providers, are honored at this exclusive gathering, hosted at the beautiful Pier 60 in the Chelsea Pier complex, overlooking the Hudson River. This year’s event will take place on March 31. For more information about the dinner and a list of the winners, visit: www.plansponsor.com/event/PSPAAwards2015.

To learn more about sponsorship or securing a table at the dinner, contact: Mike Garity at 617-943-9661 or mgarity@assetinternational.com.

About PLANADVISER

Through its magazine, website, events and email newsletter, PLANADVISER, an Asset International brand, provides comprehensive industry news, regulatory and investment information, research and training to financial advisers who specialize in the sales, design and administration of institutional qualified and nonqualified retirement plans and executive compensation plans, including 401(k), defined benefit and deferred compensation plans. For more information, visit: www.planadviser.com.

About Asset International

Asset International is a privately-held provider of information and technology to global pension funds, asset managers, financial advisers, banking service providers and other financial institutions in the private and public sectors. Its industry-leading brands include Strategic Insight, SIMFUND, PLANSPONSOR, PLANADVISER, CIO, Global Custodian, The Trade and Plan for Life. The company was acquired in July 2014 by GenStar Capital and has offices in New York; Boston; San Francisco; Toronto; Vancouver; Hong Kong; London; Melbourne, Australia; and Stamford, Connecticut. For more information, visit: www.assetinternational.com.

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