how many participants are in your dC plan?
adviser no adviser
36.6% 31.7%
30.6% 25.9%
9.5% 10.8%
14.7% 17.0%
4.1% 5.7%
4.6% 8.9%
rates saw virtually no difference—in
fact, plans without advisers show a
slightly higher rate of autoenrolling
participants than plans with advisers
( 29.8% and 29.5%, respectively). Even
more surprising, perhaps, is that
plans without advisers showed higher
rates of automatic deferral increases/
contribution acceleration for partic
ipants, with 16.2% implementing
these features, compared with 12.3%
of plans with advisers.
As the regulatory environment also
continues to scrutinize retirement
plan fees, the data show that advisers
are helping sponsors look more closely
at costs. Plans with advisers (72.4%)
are more likely to review annually
costs and fees than are plans without
advisers (69.9%). Plans using advisers
are slightly less likely than plans
without to say they “don’t know” how
much the average expense ratio of
plan investments is.
Surely the numbers are not as high
in some areas as advisers would like,
yet the difference between having
an adviser and not having an adviser
is still visible, albeit inconspicuous.
Regardless of performance data, the
number of plans using advisers is on
the rise and the majority (65.3%) of
plan sponsors using advisers say the
“adviser delivers excellent value for the
price we pay.” Advisers must be doing
something right. —Ellie Behling
Yes
No
Less than 100
100 - 499
500 - 999
1,000 - 4,999
5,000 - 9,999
10,000 or more
does your plan use the services of a financial adviser?
overall Micro sMall
61.2% 65.5% 63.1%
38.8% 34.5% 36.9%
Mid
55.3%
44.7%
large
51.8%
48.2%
What are the total dC plan assets?
adviser
11.0%
27.7%
36.1%
12.6%
5.7%
6.8%
Less than $1 million
$1 million-$5 million
$5 million-$50 million
$50 million-$200 million
$200 million-$500 million
More than $500 million
no adviser
10.7%
21.4%
33.3%
16.1%
7.4%
11.2%
Methodology
In July and August 2008, approximately
35,136 survey questionnaires were
sent to DC plan sponsors from the
PLANSPONSOR magazine database,
as well as client lists supplied by DC
providers; 5.973 total usable responses
were received by the close of the survey
on September 10, 2008. To get the data
for these results, the questionnaires of
plans that reported using an adviser were
compared with those from plan sponsors
that said they do not use an adviser.
What is the adviser’s fee arrangement? (check all that apply)
overall Micro sMall
51.9% 58.2% 58.3%
10.3% 14.6% 8.0%
6.2% 4.0% 4.4%
24.3% 14.6% 20.0%
4.1% 4.9% 4.7%
1.4% 1.9% 1.0%
9.1% 9.5% 9.7%
of plan assets (bps)
Per participant
Project-based
Monthly/annual retainer
Performance: investments
Performance: participation
Other
Mid
38.3%
2.9%
9.1%
43.8%
2.3%
1.0%
8.1%
large
29.5%
11.4%
14.3%
44.8%
1.6%
1.6%
7.6%
do you believe you are receiving good value for the products and services
from the adviser?
Excellent value for the price we pay
Good value, but there is room for
improvement
Only the minimum product/service
levels as stated in the contract
Adviser does not add value
overall
65.3%
28.9%
Micro
63.9%
27.6%
sMall
67.3%
28.6%
Mid
68.3%
28.3%
large
60.7%
34.6%
4.3%
1.5%
5.6%
3.0%
3.3%
0.8%
3.1%
0.3%
4.7%
