RESEARCH |
2019
PLANADVISER Micro Plan Survey
Our annual gathering of data on plans with less than $5 million in assets points to a promising market for advisers
Reported by PLANADVISER
| Art by JooHee Yoon
Industry Data
Use of Advisers
Use of Advisers
Adviser Use Among Plans
| All Plans | <$1MM | $1MM–$5MM | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Use a plan adviser | 68% | 52% | 62% |
| Do not use a plan adviser | 25% | 33% | 28% |
| Unsure/Don’t know | 7% | 15% | 11% |
| Services Provided by Plan Advisers | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| All Plans | <$1MM | $1MM–$5MM | |
| Review of fund performance | 96% | 88% | 94% |
| Plan investment selection guidance | 93% | 81% | 91% |
| Evaluating/Explaining provider fees | 82% | 69% | 76% |
| Benchmarking plan design | 74% | 50% | 61% |
| Creation/Monitoring of IPS4 | 71% | 51% | 59% |
| Provider selection/due diligence | 70% | 64% | 66% |
| Group participant education | 59% | 61% | 76% |
| Plan compliance with laws and IPS | 57% | 51% | 57% |
| One-on-one participant education | 57% | 62% | 76% |
| Ensuring plan alignment with objectives | 56% | 48% | 61% |
| 4Investment policy statement | |||
| Financial Education Offered by Employers | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| All Plans | <$1MM | $1MM–$5MM | |
| Saving strategies/prioritization | 44% | 19% | 28% |
| Financial markets/Investing basics | 36% | 15% | 28% |
| Budgeting | 29% | 13% | 16% |
| Rolling over past balances into the plan | 29% | 14% | 22% |
| Rollover options for separating employees | 27% | 13% | 20% |
| Retirement health care costs/savings options | 26% | 10% | 13% |
| Social Security withdrawal options/strategies | 21% | 8% | 10% |
| Credit/Debt management | 19% | 6% | 8% |
| College saving | 17% | 6% | 9% |
Adviser Fiduciary Status
| All Plans | <$1MM | $1MM–$5MM | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3(38) fiduciary | 17% | 15% | 15% |
| 3(21) fiduciary | 37% | 15% | 24% |
| Adviser is not a plan fiduciary | 13% | 13% | 17% |
| Unsure/Don’t know | 34% | 58% | 44% |
Does Your Plan Employ a Third Party as a 3(16) Fiduciary?
| All Plans | <$1MM | $1MM–$5MM | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yes, broad scope5 | 22% | 21% | 22% |
| Yes, limited scope6 | 31% | 23% | 31% |
| No | 38% | 40% | 37% |
| Unsure/Don’t know | 9% | 17% | 11% |
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5The third party has broad-scope acceptance of the administrator role, including to be named as the plan administrator in the plan document. 6The third party has only limited-scope acceptance of some (vs. all) of the functions of the plan administrator; responsibility for actions outside of this scope is retained by plan officials. |
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