Retirement Plan Services
Chandler, O'Rear and Associates is an independent financial services organization focused on offering retirement plan solutions that maximize efficiency, maintain plan compliance, and reduce fiduciary liability exposure. These solutions include, but are not limited to:
- 401(k) employee deferral plans
- Defined benefit plans
- ERISA 403(b) plans
Non-qualified deferred compensation plans
Chandler, O'Rear and Associates has access to extensive resources and expertise in the areas of benchmarking analysis, open architecture plan analysis and design, investment due diligence, and comprehensive employee communications, employee education strategies, and fiduciary oversight.
Fiduciary Education and Consulting
Our experience tells us that many companies that sponsor retirement plans do not understand their fiduciary responsibilities and are therefore unaware of their liability under ERISA’s “prudent person” rule.
First, we work to help our clients understand what it means to be a fiduciary and what requirements the Department of Labor expects them to meet. We then implement and document processes in all areas of the plan in order to minimize excess liability. We maintain a Fiduciary File for our clients which serves as storage and retrieval for audit and fiduciary documentation relating to the plan.
Vendor Analysis
We see many plans that have been with the same provider for years disregarding the fact that the plan participants and assets may have grown substantially. It is a critical fiduciary responsibility to periodically compare the current plan provider with other providers in the marketplace. Our firm will provide a vendor analysis and comparison when warranted, but the review process is ongoing. Our surveys and research cover market sentiment from more than 3,000 plans, 100 providers, 80+ Record-Keepers and $3 trillion in assets. We recommend a formal analysis every 3 years.
Investment Policy Design
The Investment Policy Statement (IPS) provides the framework for the plan’s investment selection and monitoring process. Without an appropriately designed IPS, it is difficult for a Plan Sponsor to know and state the criteria being used when selecting, monitoring, and replacing plan investments. It is critical that plans monitor their IPS as evidence of a prudent investment selection and monitoring process. Our firm designs and manages an IPS for each of our clients. We educate our clients on the different components of the IPS document and refer to it when providing investment analysis. We make sure that all plan investments adhere to the Investment Policy.
Investment Selection and Monitoring
We apply the selection process outlined in the Investment Policy Statement (IPS) to help identify which investments in the plan need to be replaced and whether additions are warranted. On an ongoing, established schedule, we meet with our clients to provide full investment reviews. We are prepared to recommend when an investment should go on “watch” and when replacement should be made. We help prepare all participant notices whenever a fund change is made.
Fee Dissection & Comparison
Plan fees are being scrutinized now more than ever. There have been recent lawsuits against companies claiming fiduciary breach from lack of proper evaluation and disclosure of potentially excessive plan fees. It is critical that plan sponsors understand, evaluate, and compare all fees related to the plan. It is also important that participants are made aware of the fees that are deducted from plan assets.
We dissect all explicit and implicit plan fees to help our clients understand what they are paying and how it compares to other products.