PLANADVISER’s 2021 Top 100 Retirement Plan Advisers

PLANADVISER is pleased to present its annual “Top 100 Retirement Plan Advisers.” The list includes advisers at the top of their respective peer groups in terms of assets under advisement (AUA) or number of retirement plan clients—including sponsors of defined contribution (DC), defined benefit (DB) and nonqualified plans.

To become eligible for this quantitative list, advisers must complete the annual PLANADVISER Retirement Plan Adviser Survey, fielded each year in the early fall. Respondents are divided into categories for evaluation; these categories are defined by the number of advisers in the practice, which, of course, also includes support staff.

This year, we continue to break the list into four segments: individual adviser—meaning one adviser in one office location; small team—a group of up to five advisers; large team—a group of six through 10 advisers; and mega teams—11 or more advisers. This year’s list includes 20 individuals, 50 small teams, 21 large teams and nine mega teams.

Advisers may notice the size of a Mega Team being somewhat smaller this year. That is true. Further, the category is missing some notable names, and this is also by design. Earlier this year, as we reported in the March/April issue (see “‘Game Changers’ Reflect Progress”), the PLANADVISER editorial team decided to change its metrics on how it examines teams, to better consider whether a team is truly acting as one group.

There are now a handful of massive, nationally representative advisory groups that, according to our former definitions, should be named as “mega teams” within the PLANADVISER Top 100 awards program. However, it is inappropriate to give a blanket team award to every adviser in these firms, because they are not a single unit, and we have no way of assessing whether every advisory practice now operating under a single brand deserves a Top 100 designation.

Therefore, beginning this year, we have broken off a group of firms, calling them out as what they are: Game changers. These firms, due to their outsized influence, are too big to be included in the traditional Top 100 process. In fact, those on this premiere list all note that their single “team” includes more than 15 office locations and 21 or more advisers. They include (in alphabetical order) CAPTRUST, CBIZ Retirement Plan Services, Gallagher Benefit Services Inc., MMA Retirement Services, Pensionmark Financial Group, Resources Investment Advisors – a OneDigital Company and SageView Advisory Group.

Some of those firms are represented on the Individual, Small Team and Large Team lists, as practices within those national practices are now eligible for consideration. This is possible because we have better defined eligibility for teams that truly deliver service as one entity.

In the link that follows, we highlight the quantitative standouts according to the dollar value of qualified plan AUA as well as the number of plans under advisement. The eligibility standards will continue to change each year, to reflect the ever-improving qualifications of those submitting.

This year, individuals needed a minimum of $750 million in retirement plan AUA or 100 retirement plans; small teams had to advise at least $2 billion in retirement plan assets or 150 or more retirement plans; large teams needed $5 billion or more in retirement plan AUA or 200 or more plans; and mega teams had to oversee at least $12 billion in retirement plan AUA or 350 or more plans. Congratulations to all of those advisers listed!

Art by Andrea D’Aquino