Investment Performance
Investment Performance
It’s important to select a range of diversified investment options suitable for, not only the type of plan being offered, but also for those who will participate in the plan. This requires regular monitoring and benchmarking of the investment options and investment providers to ensure they continue to be appropriate choices.
Expenses
Expenses
Investment options offered in retirement plans (e.g., Mutual Funds and other investment vehicles) have management fees (usually charged as percentage of assets) to pay for the professionals who perform the research and analysis to determine which investments to include in the fund. Investment-level fees relative to peers must be quantified and disclosed to participants.
Advisor Fees
Advisor Fees
If you use outside advisors or consultants for assistance with the administration, investment guidance, and/or compliance for your plan, you still have the responsibility to ensure that the services provided are necessary and that the cost is reasonable in light of the level and quality of services.
Target Date Fund Analysis / Monitoring
Target Date Fund Analysis / Monitoring
The US Department of Labor has developed general guidelines for selecting and monitoring Target Date Funds (TDF), including: establishing a periodic review, understanding the underlying investment allocation, reviewing and monitoring expenses, and developing effective employee communications.
Fiduciary Fitness
Fiduciary Fitness
Being a fiduciary means having responsibilities; the more you learn about them, the better equipped you are to make effective decisions. Measuring fiduciary fitness is a helpful starting point for you to determine if there are areas where your current processes can be improved or enhanced.
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Provider Benchmarking
To help you choose a unique retirement plan provider, PensionmarkMeridien partners with you to understand your organization’s unique needs and the many factors to consider. Our team will assist you through a streamlined selection process that benchmarks prospective vendors based on a number of quantitative and qualitative factors.
- Fund Expenses
- Retirement Tools and Support Services
- Ease of Administration
- Fee Negotiations
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Plan Design Direction
Our team helps to ensure your retirement plan is proactive and protective by:
- Benchmarking national trends
- Providing industry experience and best practices
- Providing plan design guidance
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Compliance & Fiduciary Guidance
Our retirement consultants help you to fulfill your fiduciary responsibilities using a checklist of action items that ensure you remain compliant with Section 404(c) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). This act outlines voluntary guidelines that, if followed, effectively transfer the potential liability associated with investment decision-making responsibilities from plan sponsors to employees who participate in the plan. The key elements which the PensionmarkMeridien Team assists with are:
- Prudently select and monitor plan investment options
- Provide appropriate investment choices and information enabling participants to make educated decisions
- Document that all participants receive such information
- Establish Retirement Plan Committee, facilitate committee meetings, and draft meeting minutes
- Fiduciary training
- Investment policy statement
- Education policy statement
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Administrative & Participant Support
Throughout the implementation phase and ongoing plan administration, our dedicated team proactively takes on tasks to reduce your administrative burden. They are not afraid to dig into the details and do whatever it takes to help keep you in compliance, facilitate the completion of plan requirements, support any needed interaction with the Department of Labor, or advocate on your behalf to negotiate lower fees with plan vendors. With PensionmarkMeridien you will have an accountable, proactive, dedicated partner. Some of the areas that we will help you with include:
- Day to day operations
- Compliance testing and audit support
- Government filings
- Required notices and disclosures
- Project management between vendors and Plan Sponsor
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Investment Selection & Monitoring
As part of your plan implementation and our ongoing service, PensionmarkMeridien’s experienced professionals perform extensive investment screening and analysis. We work with you to establish Retirement Plan Committee and Investment Policy Statement (IPS) to outline the decision process. Our team will continuously monitor your plan’s investments and send you our comprehensive analysis based on an industry leading, quantitative and qualitative criteria presented in an easy-to-understand scorecard format. Our services include:
- Personalized investment reviews
- Monitoring of current fund offerings
- Recommendations to replace underperforming funds
- Facilitation of vendor fund changes
- Assistance with participant fund change communications
- Alignment of company philosophy with program offering
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Participant Education & Support
Employee education is at the core of Pensionmark Meridien’s philosophy for a successful retirement plan. The more your employees know about their retirement plan and investments, the more they will be encouraged to participate in the plan. We will help your employees understand the importance of saving towards retirement and the state of the current market, and also provide the tools to help employees make an informed decision on their investment strategy.
Our dedicated education professionals will establish employee education programs and customize campaigns to fit your employees’ specific needs. In addition:
- We make ourselves available to answer participant questions by phone and email
- We provide ongoing group education meetings, one-on-one consultations, web based seminars, and other resources
- We evaluate the effectiveness of employee education on an ongoing basis
