Whether your retirement plan has never had an advisor before, or if you currently have an advisor but are looking to “shop around,” it is important to have a documented due diligence process that demonstrates how your plan advisor was selected. As a fiduciary, a Plan Sponsor must be able to show that their plan advisor was selected in an objective, unbiased manner, and are able to produce documentation that reflects the selection criteria and methodology behind their decision if requested. Additionally, having this information on file can also help to hold your plan advisor accountable at a later time, if needed.
At DirectAdvisors, we regularly participate in Request for Proposal (RFP) processes from prospective clients. This process usually requires us to complete a detailed questionnaire and participate in in-person interviews. After going through this process numerous times, we have come across hundreds of questions from Plan Sponsors who are looking to hire their next plan advisor. With so many possible questions that a Plan Sponsor can ask a plan advisor, it is important to narrow down the list to the most critical questions that need to be answered. We recommend reading the following article from the 2019 PlanSponsor National Conference, which does a good job of addressing the major areas/concepts that should be addressed in any RFP of a plan advisor.
If you would like DirectAdvisors to submit an RFP for the advisory work on your retirement plan, please contact us by phone (518-362-2119) or email (RPW.Direct.Advisors.Info@hubinternational.com) to begin the process!
https://www.plansponsor.com/psnc-2019-criteria-consider-selecting-retirement-plan-adviser/