PLANADVISER - March/April 2021 - 11

office locations-we were struck by how
many groups wanting to be recognized as
one team were truly national firms, often
with multiple teams within.
Our conundrum is this: There are now
a handful of massive, nationally representative
advisory groups that, our former
definitions say, should be named as " mega
teams " within the PLANADVISER Top 100
awards program. Yet, it is inappropriate to
give a blanket team award covering every
adviser in these firms, because they are not
one team, and we have no way to assess
whether all practices now operating under a
single brand deserve a Top 100 designation.
We have realized that the massive
amount of adviser consolidation that has
unfolded in the last several years makes
our approach up until now untenable for
2021 and for the future of the Top 100
Retirement Plan Advisers awards program.
Therefore, beginning this year, we are
carving out and recognizing a group of
firms in a new category, calling them out
as what they are: game changers. These
firms, due to their outsized influence, are
too big to take part in the traditional Top
100 process. In fact, those on this initial list
all note that their single " team " includes
more than 15 office locations and 21 or
more advisers. They include, in alphabetical
order, CAPTRUST, CBIZ Retirement
Plan Services, Gallagher Benefit Services
Inc., MMA Retirement Services, Pensionmark
Financial Group, Resources Investment
Advisors - a OneDigital Company,
and SageView Advisory Group.
The justification for this decision can
be seen in the evolution of the retirement
plan adviser industry itself. In 2011, the
individual advisers in our Top 100 represented
about $15 billion in retirement plan
assets, while the teams on the list collectively
served just shy of $110 billion. Today,
CAPTRUST alone oversees more than $600
billion in plan assets, and Hub International,
OneDigital, Marsh McLennan and
the rest are not far behind. This is far more
than is managed by teams we typically
categorize as mega. With this in mind, we
cannot consider such entities as one unit.
Looking at the industry's likely future,
we at PLANADVISER feel confident that our
new approach to the Top 100 program is
the right one. We will continue to recognize
teams within these large national firms, as
we have for years within our annual Retirement
Plan Adviser of the Year program,
where we have had many winners, both
individuals and teams,
these national firms.
While the game changers may not
be featured in the Top 100 program as a
mega team, we expect to see many of their
offices around the country represented, as
we better define eligibility for teams that
truly are delivering service as one entity.
-John Manganaro
that are part of
In 2011, the
individual
advisers in
the Top 100
represented
about $15 billion
in retirement
plan assets,
while the teams
collectively
served just shy
of $110 billion.
Today, the
biggest firm
responding
to our survey
alone oversees
more than
$600 billion.
Did You Know?
205 $1.8b + 25%
... total adviser and asset
manager deals were
reported, by Echelon
Partners, in 2020 and 203
in 2019
... was the average AUM/
AUA acquired per transaction
in 2020-up 24%
over the average amount
acquired in 2019
... was how much the number
of deals grew in Q4 2020
over Q3 2020-69 vs. 55 total
deals; Q3 had the previous
quarterly high-water mark
planadviser.com March-April 2021 | 11
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http://www.planadviser.com
PLANADVISER - March/April 2021

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