PLANADVISER - September/October 2020 - 28

winners' circle
plans maintained; the necessary testing for controlled
groups; keeping the fiduciary governance in place, and so on.
We also have been doing a lot of work with clients in ensuring
their plan documents are consistent with the way the plan
is being administered-e.g., is compensation being reported
by the payroll provider accurately, excluding compensation
that the legal document excludes?
Francis: Compliance support is not asked for as much as
it should be by plan sponsors. Yes, increased lawsuits and
audit activity have more plan sponsors asking questions, but
it's still very much a " they don't know what they don't know "
world out there. We perform plan ERISA and recordkeeping
compliance audits for clients regularly. Unlike most advisory
firms, we have in-house expertise that came from the
recordkeeping industry. In conducting a compliance audit,
we have never found a client that was not making mistakes
that needed correcting. Retirement plans are extremely
complex arrangements. Throw in constantly changing rules
and financial markets, and you begin to appreciate the need
for an independent expert looking over your shoulder to
ensure your plan remains ERISA compliant.
Prince: From a compliance point of view, we have built into
our client discussions new twists on litigation. For the most
part, the recordkeeping community has really stepped up
with notice delivery and other compliance items. The DOL's
focused audit process has changed and is now focusing on
missing participants. This has changed some of the items we
cover with clients to help keep them ahead of potential issues.
PA: Have your firm's compensation practices evolved
toward more fee-based work?
Lander: We've always worked as a fee-based consultant.
However, we're seeing more " project work " for many of the
services I just mentioned. We've had to learn to be very
specific as to what services are covered under our standard
retainer fee and what services would be considered a separate
fee-based project. Further, much of our consulting work
would be considered to be settlor functions, which-and
assuming our investment advisory fees are paid from the
plan-may not be paid from the plan.
Francis: Since Francis Investment Counsel was founded, our
compensation practices have not changed. We are a flat-feeonly
ERISA fiduciary adviser and always have been. And by
flat-fee I mean a set dollar amount per year for a prescribed
set of services. We receive zero dollars in indirect or thirdparty
compensation, and our clients rest easy knowing the
advice we give and the decisions they make in no way affect
our compensation. That said, we continue to see a large
number of plan advisers whose pricing model consists of
asset-based fees and/or receipt of revenue sharing. We've
always felt these practices introduce real conflicts of
interest, which we don't believe are prudent.
Prince: We've been fee based since the early 2000s, which I
am glad we have been.
PA: When and why did you decide to become a fiduciary
adviser?
Lander: I've been in the retirement plan business my entire
working career-but until about 12 years ago, I always worked
for larger companies-either a retirement plan consulting
firm or a full-service recordkeeper. I gained much experience
in just about every aspect of our business, from actuarial
consulting, to investment advisory work, to plan recordkeeping,
to compliance, to participant education.
Although I always loved the work I did, I found myself
chomping at the bit. I wanted to solve problems and fill the
needs I saw in a way that I felt would be best and with an
industrywide perspective-not based on what my employer
was promoting or where its strengths were. So, in 2008, I
started Renaissance Benefit Advisors Group, LLC. It was one
of the most terrifying things I've ever done, but it's 12 years
later and we're still here and growing!
" ... our clients rest easy
knowing the advice we
give and the decisions they
make in no way affect our
compensation. "
Francis: I became a retirement plan adviser over 30 years
ago when I realized there are tens of thousands of " wealth
managers " whose job description is succinctly summarized
as " helping the rich get richer, " while there are precious
few financial advisers who exist to serve the consumer of
defined contribution [DC] plans. That's because they don't
have much money and are desperately trying to understand
how to accumulate some. I became an ERISA fiduciary
adviser after obtaining a law degree and learning about the
true purpose of ERISA and that some people actually go
to jail for abusing their position of trust, relative to other
people's qualified plan assets.
Prince: I began my career as a Certified Public Accountant
[CPA] in a global accounting firm. I started out in the tax
department. We had a number of clients in the early 1990s
that were terminating their defined benefit [DB] plans and
setting up these new 401(k) things. Someone needed to help
clients figure this out, and I " drew the short straw " and
created a practice out of it. This random event was one of
the best things that has happened to my career, and I love
it. In the mid '90s, the investment world wanted to get more
involved in the 401(k) space, and that launched my career as
a fiduciary adviser. -Judy Faust Hartnett
28 | planadviser.com September-October 2020
http://www.planadviser.com
PLANADVISER - September/October 2020

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