PLANADVISER - September/October 2019 - 8

practice development
OneOn-One
Meetings
Best
practices for making
the most of the time
O
f the six options that respondents
to the 2019 PLANSPONSOR
Participant Survey
could choose from for their " preferred
education communication vehicle, " the
list-topper, with 30% of votes, was oneon-one
adviser sessions. If an advisory
firm has decided to offer such meetings,
what logistics should it keep in mind?
Wes Collins, senior manager, participant
advice services at CAPTRUST
Financial Advisors, in Raleigh, North
Carolina, says allow for at least a
30-minute conversation. " Anything
shorter than that, you can't accomplish
a lot. The more time we allow,
the more robust those conversations
are. At the same time, the more time,
the fewer people you can see. With a
30-minute consultation, we can see 13
or 15 participants in one day. "
CAPTRUST uses an online scheduling
system to connect with individual
participants after the sponsor
client has set the date. " We give clients
a communication to send out with the
scheduling link. With a system such
as this, advisers can see if sign-ups
are full, for instance; do they need to
think about providing additional time
or driving people to our advice desk as
an alternative? " Collins says.
" On the other side is knowing your
client. We revert to using hard-copy
sign-ups when not everyone uses a
computer, such as in manufacturing
jobs. We'll check in with the contact to
see how things are going, " he says. " It's
all about communication. "
Manual Rosado, president of Spectrum
Investment Advisors, in Mequon,
Wisconsin, strongly suggests that
meetings be scheduled during the
work day, as attendance will be low
otherwise. Plus, he says, " There has
to be ongoing scheduling communications
throughout the event, and a
plan sponsor employee has to own the
process. [He] can guide the participants,
and trust is already built in. "
Further, Rosado says, " We want to
understand from the client what type
of atmosphere we'll be in, what the
expectations are, what our look and feel
should be: Should we be coming in with
a suit and tie or with polo shirts? We
want to educate and empower individuals;
therefore, we want to talk to them
and not in an overly complicated way. "
The meeting documentation begins
with the adviser collecting data from
the participant-and the person's
spouse, if possible-to be used as a
baseline, Rosado says. Having the
spouse attend the meeting allows
for more comprehensive advice, as
the couple may each have a defined
contribution (DC) plan and/or outside
accounts to discuss.
Participants are asked to bring their
statements or passwords so, during the
meeting, the adviser can review their
savings and allocations and then implement
or agree upon actions, Collins
says. But, " As often as we remind participants
to bring that stuff, they don't. We
then either try to reset their passwords
or try to get their recordkeeper on the
phone, but this cuts into the appointment
time. "
Then starts what ideally will be an
action-oriented, one-on-one conversation,
which can enable account access,
a password reset, contribution change,
beneficiary update, outside asset
discussion, and investment rebalance/
reallocation.
At Spectrum, Rosado says, advisers
use an online worksheet that includes
current, as well as
recommended,
allocation numbers. The adviser and
participant work together to make the
suggested changes. At the end, " we
scan the worksheet document so the
conversation can be picked up where
it was left off at the next meeting, and
send a summary of the conversation
as a keepsake for the participant. "
-Judy Faust Hartnett
8 | planadviser.com September-October 2019
Art by Mar Hernandez
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PLANADVISER - September/October 2019

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