PlanTools Unveils DB Benchmarking Module
The system, which includes more than 20 different service lines provided to DB plans, was designed for immediate use by subscribers of the PlanTools Benchmarking solution and has no data at the moment, according to David Witz, managing director of PlanTools. The firm’s database is organically added by the subscribers, he explained, and as more plans are added to the system, the data will become statistically significant.
PlanTools built what the market requested and said it is up to the market to populate it with data, so that the module delivers the data needed to evaluate fees. “The DB benchmarking module will only fail if our subscribers fail to enter data,” Witz said. “Now it is up to our subscribers to benchmark their plans.” Reliable benchmarking is a numbers game that provides accurate information only when subscribers load the game, he said.
PlanTools also plans to create modules for employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) and 403(b) plans, and is collecting data for services offered to these plans. They expect to roll out new modules soon. “Although many of our users run 403(b) benchmarking reports under the current defined contribution environment, we believe a specific solution for 403(b) plans is the next step in the evolution of our benchmarking system,” Witz said.