PLANADVISER - September/October 2017 - 28

A Platform for Adviser Choice
Howard Insley and Dan Kravitz
The value of flexibility and fee transparency for retirement plan advisers
leader in the cash balance market.
PLANADVISER: How is Ascensus using acquisitions to enhance
its services to advisers?
Howard Insley: Today, more than 30,000 advisers turn to
Ascensus for retirement plan solutions tailored to their clients'
needs. Recently, we've focused our acquisition efforts on
increasing our retirement plan administration and design capabilities
to offer added value to advisers and their clients. We've
expanded our presence with coast-to-coast office locations
offering local support backed by national resources. And the
acquisition of Kravitz has allowed Ascensus to become a market
PA: Can you talk about Kravitz's cash balance and combo plan
services, and how they can help advisers grow their businesses?
Dan Kravitz: Advisers constantly need to differentiate themselves
in an increasingly competitive environment. When they're armed
with an understanding of cash balance plans and can bring expertbacked
solutions to the table, advisers have an immediate edge
over competitors. Many advisers have clients or prospects who
own profitable professional services firms. These business owners
need to increase retirement savings while reducing tax liabilities,
and that's where adding a cash balance plan to an existing defined
contribution [DC] plan makes a big difference. Most tax advisers
and attorneys agree that the best way to reduce taxes is an abovethe-line
tax deduction, and that's the beauty of cash balance
plans. They can significantly reduce business owners' adjusted
gross incomes.
The average plan sponsor contribution to employee retirement
accounts is 3.7% of pay in companies with a 401(k) plan alone,
compared with 6.6% of pay in companies with a combination of
If there's any constant in the retirement plan industry, it's change-
whether it's related to regulations, market pressure on investment
strategies, compensation, or other factors. Ascensus has
responded to this changing environment with a focus on transparency
and adviser support. PLANADVISER spoke with Howard
Insley, Senior Vice President at Ascensus, and Dan Kravitz, head
of Kravitz, Inc., now an Ascensus company, about the value of
open architecture and specialized plan design in the current
industry environment.
SPONSORED SECTION
Photography by David Zentz

PLANADVISER - September/October 2017

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of PLANADVISER - September/October 2017

Onboarding New Clients
2017 Retirement Plan Adviser Survey
A Focus on the TDK Market
Reharvesting
Annuities in DC Plans
Keeping Them Happy
Laden With Student Debt
When Advisers Tout Their Own Services
PLANADVISER - September/October 2017 - Cover1
PLANADVISER - September/October 2017 - Cover2
PLANADVISER - September/October 2017 - 1
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PLANADVISER - September/October 2017 - Onboarding New Clients
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PLANADVISER - September/October 2017 - 2017 Retirement Plan Adviser Survey
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PLANADVISER - September/October 2017 - 47
PLANADVISER - September/October 2017 - A Focus on the TDK Market
PLANADVISER - September/October 2017 - 49
PLANADVISER - September/October 2017 - 50
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PLANADVISER - September/October 2017 - 57
PLANADVISER - September/October 2017 - Reharvesting
PLANADVISER - September/October 2017 - 59
PLANADVISER - September/October 2017 - 60
PLANADVISER - September/October 2017 - 61
PLANADVISER - September/October 2017 - Annuities in DC Plans
PLANADVISER - September/October 2017 - 63
PLANADVISER - September/October 2017 - 64
PLANADVISER - September/October 2017 - 65
PLANADVISER - September/October 2017 - Keeping Them Happy
PLANADVISER - September/October 2017 - 67
PLANADVISER - September/October 2017 - Laden With Student Debt
PLANADVISER - September/October 2017 - 69
PLANADVISER - September/October 2017 - When Advisers Tout Their Own Services
PLANADVISER - September/October 2017 - 71
PLANADVISER - September/October 2017 - 72
PLANADVISER - September/October 2017 - Cover3
PLANADVISER - September/October 2017 - Cover4
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