Cogent Research recently released their second annual “Retirement Plan Advisor Trends” study designed to help providers understand the behaviors and preferences of plan advisors. Based on a web survey of 520 DC plan producers, 44% of advisors had less than $5 million of plan assets under management, 39% had $5-$25 million and 18% had more than $25 million. The independent advisor channel dominated at 43%, and 28% of respondents were with national firms.
According to Cogent’s president John Meunier, the drivers of advisors' satisfaction with providers were, in order of importance:
• Value for the money, which was both a driver and a barrier
• Flexibility of investment options
• Servicing of plan sponsors
Not surprisingly, mutual fund providers scored better in value for the money, while insurance providers scored higher in servicing clients. American Funds and Fidelity were named top providers when it came to ease of doing business, followed by Hancock and Nationwide. Fidelity, Great West, Principal and Nationwide were top performers on servicing plan sponsors. Principal scored higher this year and, as expected, Hartford scored lower — especially with moderate producers. The payroll providers also registered lower satisfaction scores in 2012 compared with 2011. Read more here.
