RESEARCH | April 6, 2017

2017
PLANADVISER Adviser Value Survey

A survey of plan sponsors reveals what services from their retirement plan advisers they perceive to be beneficial.

Reported by PLANADVISER | Art by Kevin Hong

Survey Data

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Survey Data

RESPONDENT PROFILE
DC Plan Assets
	WITH ADVISER	WITHOUT ADVISER
<$1MM	6%	15%
$1MM – $5MM	20%	24%
>$5MM – $10MM	11%	16%
>$10MM – $25MM	14%	12%
>$25MM – $50MM	11%	9%
>$50MM – $200MM	17%	10%
>$200MM – $500MM	8%	5%
>$500MM – $1B	5%	2%
>$1B	8%	6%

DC Plan Participants
	WITH ADVISER	WITHOUT ADVISER
<100	32%	48%
100 – 500	27%	24%
501 – 1,000	11%	7%
1,001 – 5,000	17%	13%
5,001 – 10,000	6%	2%
>10,000	8%	7%

DC Plan Type
	WITH ADVISER	WITHOUT ADVISER
401(k)	89%	84%
403(b)	11%	13%
457	12%	10%
Money purchase	3%	2%
Profit sharing	22%	19%
Employee Stock Ownership Plan	4%	5%
KSOP*	1%	1%
Nonqualified Deferred Compensation	13%	8%
Simplified Employee Pension	0%	0%
SIMPLE IRA^	0%	1%
Footnote: *Qualified retirement plan that combines a 401(k) with an ESOP. ^Savings incentive match plan for employees' individual retirement account.

EMPLOYER MATCH
Type(s) of Employer Contributions
	WITH ADVISER	WITHOUT ADVISER
Employer matching contribution*	78%	73%
Profit-sharing/Nonelective contribution	52%	50%
No employer contribution	22%	27%
Footnote: *I.e., 50% of first 6% of pay.

Match Formula
	WITH ADVISER	WITHOUT ADVISER
>100% match, to 6% of salary	2%	5%
100% match, to 6% of salary	10%	9%
51% – 99% match, to 6% of salary	28%	33%
50% match, to 6% of salary	19%	15%
<50% match, to 6% of salary	6%	6%
Other match formula	35%	32%

Frequency of Match or Contribution
	WITH ADVISER	WITHOUT ADVISER
Per pay period	73%	70%
Annually	14%	14%
Monthly	2%	2%
Biweekly (26 times a year)	5%	5%
Twice monthly (24 times a year)	2%	3%
Quarterly	2%	3%
Other	1%	3%

Match/Contribution Vesting
	WITH ADVISER	WITHOUT ADVISER
Immediately on enrollment	35%	37%
At 6 months	1%	1%
At 1 year	3%	6%
At 2 years	5%	5%
At 3 years	13%	13%
At 4 years	5%	2%
At 5 years	21%	17%
At >6 years	1%	2%

PLAN DESIGN
DC Plan Features Used
	WITH ADVISER	WITHOUT ADVISER
Employer match	78%	73%
Auto-enrollment	48%	37%
Auto-deferral increases	45%	30%
Roth	69%	58%
Safe harbor	42%	49%
Written IPS	76%	56%
Loan provision	83%	76%
Hardship withdrawal provision	88%	83%
Custom TDFs	13%	12%

Plan Eligibility
	WITH ADVISER	WITHOUT ADVISER
Immediately upon hire	39%	36%
Within 3 months	28%	26%
Within 4 – 11 months	14%	12%
After 1 year of employment	19%	24%
After >1 year of employment	1%	2%

INVESTMENTS
Investment Types Offered in DC Plans
	WITH ADVISER	WITHOUT ADVISER
Target-date funds	79%	75%
Target-risk funds	39%	40%
Balanced funds	68%	72%
Professionally managed accounts	36%	31%
Money market fund	59%	65%
Employer stock	7%	8%
Stable value fund	64%	53%
Real estate/Real estate investment trusts	28%	26%
Alternative investments	5%	6%
Socially responsible funds	11%	12%

Investment Vehicles Used
	WITH ADVISER	WITHOUT ADVISER
Mutual funds	92%	90%
Separate accounts	21%	20%
Collective investment trusts	17%	12%
ETFs (outside of brokerage window)	8%	11%
Self-directed brokerage window	20%	18%
Mutual fund window	5%	4%
Other	5%	7%

Frequency of Review of Investment Options
	WITH ADVISER	WITHOUT ADVISER
Quarterly	44%	23%
Twice a year	18%	12%
Annually	29%	43%
Every 1 – 2 years	4%	7%
Every >2 – 3 years	1%	4%
Every >3 years	2%	3%
Never	2%	7%

FEES
Average Expense Ratio of DC Investment Options
	WITH ADVISER	WITHOUT ADVISER
<0.25% (<25 bps)	11%	12%
0.25% – 0.50% (25 – 50 bps)	24%	19%
0.51% – 0.75% (51 – 75 bps)	18%	18%
0.76% – 1.00% (76 – 100 bps)	13%	12%
1.01% – 1.50% (101 – 150 bps)	7%	5%
1.51% – 2.00% (151 – 200 bps)	1%	1%
2.01% – 2.50% (201 – 250 bps)	0%	0%
>2.50% (>250 bps)	0%	0%
Don't know	25%	34%

Frequency of Review of Actual Administrative Costs/Fees
	WITH ADVISER	WITHOUT ADVISER
Annually	74%	70%
Every 1 – 2 years	11%	13%
Every >2 – 3 years	9%	7%
Every >3 – 5 years	2%	2%
Every >5 years	1%	2%
Don’t know	2%	6%

OVERSIGHT
Frequency of Formal Evaluation of DC Provider
	WITH ADVISER	WITHOUT ADVISER
Annually	49%	54%
Every 1 – 2 years	10%	11%
Every >2 – 3 years	12%	10%
Every >3 – 5 years	16%	10%
Every >5 years	7%	6%
Don’t know	6%	10%

Length of Relationship With DC Provider
	WITH ADVISER	WITHOUT ADVISER
<1 year	4%	5%
1 – 3 years	13%	9%
>3 – 5 years	13%	9%
>5 – 7 years	14%	11%
>7 years	55%	63%
Don’t know	1%	2%

Investment Committee for the DC Plan
	WITH ADVISER	WITHOUT ADVISER
Yes—employees only	44%	44%
Yes—only external to our company	3%	2%
Yes—a mix of internal and external	34%	14%
Yes—unsure of composition	1%	2%
No investment committee	14%	33%
Don’t know	4%	5%

DC Plan Metrics
	WITH ADVISER	WITHOUT ADVISER
Participation rate	79%	79%
Participant deferral rate	7%	7%
Percent of participants with loans	15%	12%
Average number of investment options offered	22.5	22.3
Average number of investment options held	5.3	5.1
Average account balance	$87,323	$93,486
Median account balance	$67,896	$72,300

ADVISER ROLES, RECOMMENDATIONS
Adviser Fiduciary Roles in Retirement Plans
	2015	2016
3(38) fiduciary	21%	17%
3(21) fiduciary	34%	41%
Not a fiduciary	26%	15%
Don’t know	20%	28%