PLANADVISER - November/December 2017 - 4

intro
Education vs. Advice
P
art of the reason the qualified default investment
alternative regulation-found in the
Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA)-was
viewed as so helpful to participants was because
they often just want an answer to the question:
" What should I do? " Under the regulation, participants
could be told that if they didn't want to
make a decision, it would be made for them. Many
in the industry argued this would eliminate the
need for advice, but that hasn't been the case.
The evolution in the industry has, however,
Winning Strategies for Retirement Plan Advisers
changed the way both education and advice are
seen and delivered. Education has evolved away
from its prior focus on investment type-large cap, small cap, growth and
value-to include topics such as savings rates, and despite the popularity
of target-date funds (TDFs) and qualified default investment alternatives
(QDIAs), people still need advice about managing their account or savings
priorities and actions to take, such as whether to take a loan. There has
always been a clear line between education and advice, and some question
whether that line has been changed in light of the Department of Labor (DOL)
fiduciary rule. The rule-at least the part already in effect-expands the definition
of plan fiduciary beyond someone who gives advice on an ongoing basis
to now include anyone offering any recommendation and thereby benefiting
financially. This change, some advisers think, will discourage advisers from
offering any advice-including basic education-even if from an independent
third party. But there may be new opportunities elsewhere. As " The Next
Step " (page 30) explains, by outsourcing education to recordkeepers, advisers
can sidestep any legal ramifications from those types of communications,
experts say.
As a retirement plan adviser, you are familiar with various forms of benchTHE
STEP
NEXT
marking,
be they to measure investment performance or to compare provider
services and fees. " Peer Review " (page 46) empowers you to benchmark your
own services and business model by providing insight into competitors' strategies
through the 2017 PLANADVISER Practice Benchmarking Survey.
The 2017 PLANADVISER National Conference (PANC) was held October 11
through 13 in Orlando, Florida. You'll find extensive coverage of the conference
starting on page 34.
One of the greatest challenges that retirement plan advisers encounter is
how to convince plan sponsor clients to adopt best practices to strengthen
their plan and elevate participant outcomes. " Aggressive Plan Design " (page
54) takes a deep dive into this dilemma.
" Professional Groups " (page 57) presents a myriad plan-related ideas that
advisers can suggest to doctors', lawyers' and accountants' practices. Of course,
the logical first step is to ensure that a group's 401(k) is a safe harbor plan so
it passes nondiscrimination testing and the highly compensated participants
will have their retirement savings intact at the end of the year. Then, advisers
have many other options to offer, including cross-tested plans, cash balance
plans, nonqualified deferred compensation (NQDC) plans, defined benefit (DB)
plans, executive bonus insurance policies and annuities.
As 2017 comes to a close, we hope the features we have showcased in
PLANADVISER have opened the door to new ways of doing business and additional
revenue streams-and we look forward to bringing you additional great
ideas in 2018. -Lee Barney, Managing Editor
November-December 2017 | planadviser.com | $30
2017 Practice Benchmarking Survey
Advisers face choices on
participant-level fiduciary
recommendations
editor-in-chief: Alison Cooke Mintzer
Alison.Mintzer@strategic-i.com
creative director: SooJin Chun Buzelli, svp
SooJin.Buzelli@strategic-i.com
managing editor: Lee Barney
Lee.Barney@strategic-i.com
deputy editor, planadviser.com: John Manganaro
John.Manganaro@strategic-i.com
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Amanda Umpierrez, Karen Wittwer
contributors: Matt Cirillo, Judy Ward
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design & production: Lynn Connelly, Chris Kwon,
Claire Merchlinsky, Tiffany Pai, Micky Walls
design contributor: Cherese Rambaldi
art contributors: Melinda Beck, Tim Bower, Jack Dylan,
Leo Espinosa, Lisk Feng, Alessandro Gottardo (cover),
Eron Hare, Jenn Liv, Aart-Jan Venema, Jing Wei,
Virginia Zamora
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Paul.Zampitella@strategic-i.com
advertising sales: Katie Bacon, Meighan McGowan,
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reprints: Michelle Judkins 203-595-3276
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PLANADVISER - November/December 2017

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