A company plan that works for you, too.
Your company's retirement plan is your own savings, a reason good people stay, a fiduciary duty you carry personally, and something a buyer will check. I advise the plan with all four in view.
Under ERISA, the plan's fiduciary is usually you.
The owner who sponsors a plan is responsible for running it prudently: choosing and watching the investments, knowing what the plan pays, and keeping a record of how decisions were made. Many owners don't know that until someone asks.
A plan running on autopilot
- The fund lineup was picked years ago and never reviewed
- No one has compared what the plan pays with similar plans
- The design limits what the owners can save
- Decisions happen, but nothing is written down
- Employees enroll late, or not at all
A plan with a prudent, documented process
- A written investment policy, and a lineup measured against it
- Fees benchmarked, and providers replaced when they fall short
- A design built around the owners' savings and the team
- Regular committee meetings with minutes in a fiduciary file
- Employees who understand the plan and use it
Everything the plan needs from an adviser.
For 401(k), solo 401(k), 403(b), profit sharing, cash balance, SIMPLE IRA and SEP plans, new or existing, of any size.
Fiduciary role
An ERISA 3(21) adviser who recommends while you decide, or a 3(38) investment manager who selects and monitors the investments. Agreed in writing.
Investment policy
An Investment Policy Statement: the written rules for how the plan's investments are chosen, measured and replaced, drafted and kept current.
Investment menu
Selecting the fund lineup and the default investment, such as target date funds, then monitoring it and replacing funds that cost too much or fall short.
Fee benchmarking
Comparing what the plan pays, to everyone, with similar plans, and running a search for a new recordkeeper or administrator when it is time.
Plan design
Safe harbor, automatic enrollment, profit sharing formulas, owner-focused designs and cash balance plans, matched to your profit, your age and your team.
Plan reviews
Regular plan reviews and committee meetings, with minutes kept in a documented fiduciary file.
Team education
Enrollment and education meetings that help your team understand the plan and use it.
New plans
Help choosing and starting the right plan, set up on Altruist or Vestwell, with the design right from the first day.
Design the plan around the owners, too.
A standard 401(k) caps what an owner can put away. Profit sharing, new comparability allocations and a cash balance plan paired with a 401(k) can let owners contribute much more before tax, while still providing for the team.
I match the design to the company's profit, the owners' ages and the makeup of the staff, then revisit it as the business changes.
Schedule an Exploration CallIllustrative ceilings for an established owner. Actual limits depend on age, income, and plan design.
A clean plan is one less question in a sale.
A plan employees value helps you hire and keep the people who make the business worth more. And when a buyer arrives, they will diligence the plan: its documents, its fees, its testing and how decisions were made. Problems found then can cost time, price or both.
A plan run with a documented process all along is ready for that review, which is why this work sits alongside Business Advisory.
Schedule an Exploration CallIllustrative. Buyers review plan documents, fees, testing results and the record of fiduciary decisions.
From a one-person solo 401(k) to a company plan.
There is no minimum plan size. New plans are set up on Altruist or Vestwell, and I work with existing plans as they grow.
Defined contribution and defined benefit
The plan sponsor
- The business owner, as plan sponsor and fiduciary
- Any plan committee acting for the company
- Your recordkeeper, administrator, CPA and attorney
A tiered fee, paid by the plan.
The fee is a percentage of total plan assets, paid from the plan and billed quarterly in arrears. It is tiered, so each portion of the plan's assets is billed at the rate for its band and the overall rate falls as the plan grows.
On a $3,000,000 plan, the annual fee is $13,500, a blended rate of 0.45%. There is no minimum plan size.
Every fee, side by side: Fees.
| Plan Assets | Fee |
|---|---|
| First $1,000,000 | 0.50% |
| $1,000,001 – $2,000,000 | 0.45% |
| $2,000,001 – $3,000,000 | 0.40% |
| $3,000,001 – $4,000,000 | 0.35% |
| $4,000,001 – $5,000,000 | 0.30% |
| $5,000,001 – $10,000,000 | 0.25% |
| $10,000,001 and above | 0.20% |
Fees are described in full in our Form ADV Part 2A.
Before we start.
Which fiduciary role do you take?
Either, depending on what your plan needs. As an ERISA 3(21) investment adviser, I recommend the plan's investments and you make the final decisions, with me as a co-fiduciary. As an ERISA 3(38) investment manager, I select and monitor the investments myself and take responsibility for those decisions. We agree on the role in writing before we start.
How is the fee paid?
From plan assets, billed quarterly in arrears, as a percentage of total plan assets on a tiered schedule. There is no minimum plan size.
Can you help us start a plan?
Yes. Starting a plan is often the right moment to get the design right, since it is easier to build an owner-friendly design from the beginning than to change one later. New plans are set up on Altruist or Vestwell.
Does this replace our recordkeeper or administrator?
No. The recordkeeper keeps the participant records and the administrator handles compliance testing and filings. I advise on the investments and the design, benchmark what everyone is paid, and coordinate the providers so the plan runs as one process.
How does this connect to my own planning?
Directly. The plan is part of your own retirement savings and tax picture, part of how you keep good people, and part of what a buyer will look at. I plan it alongside the rest of your wealth and the business, not in a separate silo.
Contribution ceilings shown are illustrative and depend on age, income, plan design and IRS limits. I do not provide legal, tax preparation or plan administration services; those are coordinated with your attorney, CPA and plan administrator.
Find out what your company's plan could do for you and your team.
A complimentary 30 minute conversation about your business, your plan, and your goals. A relaxed session to learn how I work and ask any questions. I am here to listen, not to sell.
Schedule an Exploration Call