PLANADVISER - November/December 2017 - 42

independence from the recordkeeper
is key, " Junker said.
Schmidt agreed it is a fallacy to
think a recordkeeper can accomplish
all of the things an adviser does.
However, by " working together, they
can work well in sync, " he noted.
The primary task that LSG Group's
adviser was charged with, Junker
said, was to combine the company's
22 entities-all with their own 401(k)s
and very different needs. The adviser
issued a request for proposals (RFP)
and meticulously reviewed the results
over the course of two years, he said.
Then, once Bank of America Merrill
Lynch was selected as the recordkeeper,
LSG and its adviser spent
nine months creating an investment
lineup, Junker said.
Audience Poll
In 2018, my greatest opportunity will be:
l Growing new clients and expanding alternative
revenue streams 61.2%
l Expanding the services my team offers
to add value to our clients 20.4%
l Reducing the complexity of our practice and
becoming more efficient 12.2%
l Retaining clients and maintaining my current
fee structure 4.1%
l Adjusting my practice to post-DOL requirements 2.1%
Audience Poll
What changes has your firm made to
its compensation structure in the last
several years?
l Little change, because my firm already offered
fee-based approaches 45.3%
l Significant shift away from use of
commission-based compensation 32.1%
l Little change, because my firm will utilize exemptions
or other approaches to continue primary
use of commissions 9.4%
l Our debate is ongoing about shifting away from commissions 9.4%
l Other (please share) 3.8%
42 | planadviser.com november-december 2017
The end result was lower administration
and investment fees, and
higher participation. The adviser also
recommended automatic enrollment
and escalation, which, Junker said,
" work perfectly. "
As far as what Bukaty has brought
to the table for Searles, Schmidt said,
" There are dozens of examples of how
[Vince Morris, president] has helped
us, " not least of which is recommending
automatic enrollment at a 4% deferral
rate paired with 1% annual escalation
up to a 10% threshold and re-enrollment
into a target-date fund [TDF]. "
" We went from an 83% participation
rate to a 96% participation rate,
with a 40% increase in the average
balance, " Schmidt continued. " Our
adviser gave us the courage to do it. "
Maximizing the Workplace
Savings System
Talking about his new book, " From
Here to Security: How Workplace
Savings Can Keep America's Promise, "
Bob Reynolds, president and CEO of
Great-West Financial and Putnam
Investments, urged advisers to " fight to
create a new sense of a true 'people's
capitalism.' "
What Reynolds meant was they
should recognize that too few Americans
have access to the financial
markets, particularly in the form of a
tax-advantaged workplace retirement
savings plan and support the idea that
this needs to change.
" We know that the more savings you
have in a society at large, the faster the
growth rate of the overall economy, "
Reynolds explained. " This seems counterintuitive
because the invested retirement
dollars are not going straight to
consumption, but
the growth comes
because the money is injected right into
the capital markets, and this in turn
spurs on the economy. Talking about
people's capitalism means building a
direct link from the retirement planning
conversation to the growth and
stability of the economy. We should all
be able to participate and benefit from
the markets. "
As described in Reynolds' book,
there is ample evidence to show that,
should providing at least basic access
to tax-advantaged workplace retirement
savings be mandated for all
employers, there would be some $5.5
trillion in additional savings injected
into the capital markets over just the
next decade.
" I don't have to explain that such a
large amount of additional investing
would be a tremendous impetus for
growth, " Reynolds said. " This is why I
am fully in support of things such as
open multiple employer plans [MEPs],
as well as universal access in the workplace
to payroll deduction individual
retirement accounts [IRAs]. "
Turning to the potential role of
the advisers in attendance, Reynolds
observed, " Every study we've done on
the subject shows the clear value of
advisers in this whole business. When
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