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
Investments
Investments
| Investment Committee for the DC Plan | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| All Plans | <$1MM | $1MM–$5MM | |
| Internal employees only | 42% | 19% | 24% |
| External non-employees only | 2% | 2% | 3% |
| Employees and non-employees | 29% | 11% | 21% |
| Unsure of composition | 1% | 1% | 1% |
| No investment committee | 22% | 57% | 44% |
| Unsure/Don’t know | 4% | 11% | 7% |
| Income-Oriented Products/Services Offered | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| All Plans | <$1MM | $1MM–$5MM | |
| At retirement: Systematic withdrawal option | 44% | 27% | 33% |
| In-plan: Guaranteed monthly income | 10% | 7% | 10% |
| In-plan: Professional managed account service | 27% | 14% | 22% |
| In-plan: No guarantees | 10% | 10% | 10% |
| Out-of-plan: Annuity purchase | 5% | 4% | 3% |
| No income-oriented products | 46% | 64% | 57% |
Frequency of Formal Review of Investment Options
| All Plans | <$1MM | $1MM–$5MM | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | 40% | 15% | 17% |
| Twice a year | 14% | 8% | 12% |
| Annually | 34% | 42% | 51% |
| Every 1 to 2 years | 4% | 9% | 7% |
| Every 2 to 3 years | 2% | 4% | 3% |
| Every >3 years | 2% | 4% | 3% |
| Never | 4% | 16% | 7% |
| Types of Investment Options Offered | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| All Plans | <$1MM | $1MM–$5MM | |
| Target-date funds | 81% | 68% | 79% |
| Target-risk funds7 | 40% | 50% | 49% |
| Balanced fund(s) | 69% | 63% | 72% |
| Professionally managed account service | 33% | 32% | 31% |
| Money market fund | 60% | 61% | 63% |
| Employer stock | 6% | 1% | 1% |
| Stable value fund | 59% | 32% | 38% |
| Real estate/REITs8 | 27% | 20% | 22% |
| Alternative investments9 | 5% | 5% | 6% |
| Socially responsible fund(s) | 8% | 7% | 6% |
|
7E.g., growth, conservative. 8Real estate investment trusts. 9E.g., hedge funds, private equity. |
|||
| Investment Vehicles Used in DC Plan | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| All Plans | <$1MM | $1MM–$5MM | |
| Mutual funds | 94% | 91% | 91% |
| Separate accounts | 19% | 19% | 18% |
| Collective investment trusts | 17% | 8% | 9% |
| ETFs10 (outside of brokerage windows) | 2% | 2% | 3% |
| Self-directed brokerage window | 20% | 13% | 12% |
| Mutual fund window | 5% | 6% | 6% |
| Other | 1% | 2% | 1% |
| 10Exchange-traded funds | |||
Number of Investment Options Offered
All Plans
24.9
Average
<$1mm
24.3
Average
$1mm – $5mm
25.0
Average
All Plans
22.0
Median
<$1mm
22.0
Median
$1mm – $5mm
22.0
Median
Number of Investment Options Held by Participants
All Plans
5.5
Average
<$1mm
5.4
Average
$1mm – $5mm
5.8
Average
All Plans
4.0
Median
<$1mm
4.0
Median
$1mm – $5mm
4.2
Median