PLANADVISER - November/December 2019 - 26

When we asked advisers to evaluate the success of plan
clients, we noted a marked increase this year in usage of
multiple metrics. Nearly all (92%) advisers used participation
rates, and almost as many (90%) used deferral rates. But
of particular note was the increase in advisers across categories
examining some additional metric, in their benchmarking
process. For example, more than half of advisers
now use percentage of participants " with 'appropriate' asset
allocations, " or " saving to the company match " ; 43% use
percentage of those on track to meet retirement goals.
Brian O'Keefe, director of research and surveys for ISS
Media-including PLANADVISER and sister publication
PLANSPONSOR-says a preliminary look at the 2019 PLANSPONSOR
Defined Contribution (DC) Survey similarly shows
an increase in success-metric usage among plan sponsor
respondents. However, he says, overall use is still far below
that reported by plan advisers, and the increases are modest.
While the data is still early, in terms of absolute percentages,
advisers seem to be between 20% and 30% more committed
to using various success measures than are plan sponsors.
It is unknown why the survey found the overall increase
in the less basic metrics. Perhaps the findings point to
advisers' desire to know whether their plans are working-
Respondent Profile
Total Retirement Plan Assets Under Advisement
Total
Top Concern
<$100mm
$100mm - $500mm
$500mm - $1b
>$1b - $2b
>$2b - $4b
>$4b - $10b
>$10b - $20b
>$20b
11%
17%
11%
11%
19%
16%
7%
7%
Adviser Firm Affiliation
2019
l Registered investment adviser
l Wirehouse broker/dealer
l Hybrid/Dually registered*
l Independent broker/dealer
l Other
*Registered investment adviser (RIA) and broker/dealer (B/D)
39%
25%
22%
9%
5%
2018
23%
28%
27%
12%
10%
Fee compression
Adding new clients
Fee compression
Adding new clients
Adding new clients
Adding new clients
Fee compression
Fee compression
not just whether automatic enrollment is working to get
people into the plan but, rather, whether participants are
accumulating assets in a way that will help them retire.
The increase might also be linked to the evolution in
education, which has advisers delivering more financial wellness
messages to participants. As financial stress becomes
a larger discussion topic, it is logical that plan sponsors
and their advisers will want ever-improving accuracy when
measuring the outcomes of their retirement programs. -PA
METHODOLOGY. This October, PLANADVISER solicited responses to
a 38-question survey pertaining to the size and scope of advisers'
qualified plan business, practice management, compensation
and client
services.
The survey was part of a larger effort
to
understand advisers' attitudes and preferences, which included their
assessments of investment managers, mutual funds and defined
contribution (DC) plan providers-published separately in our
September/October issue. By the survey's close, PLANADVISER had
received responses from 151 teams/practices, which collectively
advise over 35,000 plans and represent $1.24 trillion in retirement
assets. For more information and for additional research available,
please contact surveys@issmediasolutions.com.
Top Growth Area Other
Than 401(k) Plans
Tie - 4 factors*
Participant advice/education
Participant advice/education
Participant advice/education
Participant advice/education
Strategic partnerships
Participant advice/education
Participant advice/education
Avg # of
Office
Locations
1.7
1.6
2.2
1.5
2.1
3.0
4.8
23.9
*Fiduciary services, referrals, rollovers, and strategic partnerships each received the same number of votes.
2019
Avg # of
Advisers
In Practice
3.8
3.3
4.9
3.5
4.7
5.9
11.0
72.3
Avg # of
Retirement
Plans Advised
55
99
132
99
126
242
252
1,533
2018
26 | planadviser.com November-December 2019

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PLANADVISER - November/December 2019

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