Rick Wedge
Northgate Benefits, an NRP member firm (Novato, California)
Reported by PLANADVISER Staff
Wedge positions himself to serve clients as either a broker or an RIA, because he wants to be able to charge fees, not just commissions. However, even in his current book of business of 48 plans, most of which are in the $1 million to $10 million in assets range, not all want to use the fee-based model, he notes. Although the company will be four years old in May, he is still in growth mode, with aims to add a dozen plans per year. “I feel we can add a lot more clients before adding staff,” he says, although he is looking to add an educator to his team soon.
Right now, the retirement plan team at Northgate Benefits consists of Wedge and Mike Warson, who is in charge of marketing. There is also a benefits side of the company with which Wedge shares some office staff. Capacity issues come into play mainly because Wedge delivers the education meetings on his own. However, that is where Wedge’s passion lies. One reason he left the provider side is that he lost touch with plans after the sales cycle, he explains.
Wedge works to measure plan success with the sponsor by focusing on things such as participation rates, deferral rates, and investment allocation. “It’s one thing to say you’ve got 90% participating but, if they’re all in stable value, we’re not doing our job,” he says.