Editor’s Note: This is the latest in a series of posts by speakers at the 2013 NAPA/ASPPA Summit, March 3-5, 2013 in Las Vegas. Joseph J. Masterson, Senior Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer, Transamerica Retirement Solutions, offers insights on what sponsors say they need help with and what they’re looking for in an advisor.
By Joseph J. Masterson
In a Hollywood romantic comedy popular about 10 years ago, a well-known actor plays an advertising executive who gains the ability to listen in on women’s real time thoughts after he suffers a freak accident. Before predictably getting sidetracked by a romantic entanglement, the executive uses this newfound insight to his competitive business advantage.
You can gain a similar competitive edge — by reading the thoughts of your clients and prospects — and it won’t even require you to sustain a freak accident. Research holds the answers. With funding from a number of plan providers and fund companies, a research study, “The Value of a Professional Retirement Plan Advisor — Plan Sponsor Survey” identifies the various ways in which sponsors rely on plan advisors to add value to their retirement program. [1. The study was conducted by EACH Enterprise, a research organization with special knowledge of Retirement Plans. The 70-item survey was administered online between Sept. 6 and Sept. 27, 2011. A total of 409 respondents included 141 clients of professional retirement plan advisors, 198 clients of other advisors, and 70 plan sponsors who do not do business with an advisor. The composite sample oversampled clients of professional retirement plan advisors to facilitate meaningful comparisons.]
Where Do Sponsors Say They Need Help?
Sponsors identify five areas of concern in which they find the work of a professional retirement plan advisor most helpful:
1. Stronger investment array
2. More reasonable fees
3. Plan enhancement and adoption
4. Outcome-based design changes
5. Efficiencies in hard and soft dollars
While some of these topics clearly fall under the more general heading of fiduciary risk management concerns, others are directly related to some measure of success in helping participants achieve positive outcomes.
As everyone knows, a well-managed, multi-faceted retirement plan is an important element in attracting and retaining key talent. But as the workforce begins to age in large numbers, it’s becoming increasingly obvious to employers that a retirement program will help them manage talent, providing the means to conduct an orderly, effective workforce transition.
What Type of Advisor Do Sponsors Trust?
There are obviously individual exceptions to every general finding that a research report offers, but there are three distinct types of advisors to whom sponsors are most likely to entrust their plan:
1. Investment advisors or securities brokers working exclusively with retirement plans
2. Advisors or brokers who work primarily with retirement plans but also work with individuals
3. Investment or benefits consultants who work primarily with retirement plans
For advisors hoping to penetrate the retirement market, there are a variety of professional designations that may be useful in helping to establish credibility.
Masterson will join fellow panelists Josh Dietch of Chatham Partners and Jania Stout of Fiduciary Consulting Group to present their workshop, “What Do Plan Sponsors Want? — How a Specialist Can Maximize Effectiveness In The Sales and Retention Process,” at the NAPA/ASPPA 401(k) Summit in Las Vegas on Monday, March 4, at 8:00 a.m.
Transamerica Retirement Solutions does not provide tax, legal, insurance, or investment advice and nothing presented herein should be construed as a recommendation to purchase or sell a particular investment or follow any investment technique or strategy.
FA - 11788 (2/13) ©2013 Transamerica Retirement Solutions Corporation. Used by permission.
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