NYLIM, Morningstar Combine To Offer Sponsor Advice

NYLIM Retirement Plan Services and Morningstar Associates have put their heads together in a new offering called Portfolio Complete, a suite of investment advisory services that will assist plan sponsors in picking – and monitoring – fund choices in their retirement plans. 

Under the program, Morningstar Associates, a registered investment advisor and independent investment consultant, will perform a variety of services ranging from investment line-up construction to ongoing investment monitoring. In some cases, Morningstar Associates will serve as a fiduciary in advising on the plan’s investments.

Not only will the product’s operation be integrated with the core NYLIM offerings, it will be available to NYLIM clients at no additional cost.

Portfolio Complete, which will begin to roll out in the fall of 2002, has been designed to offer three levels of due diligence support:

• The “Complete Solution” offers plan sponsors a demographic screening of the company’s employee base, a specific fund line-up, a customized investment policy statement, and ongoing investment monitoring of how the overall fund line-up, as well as each fund in it, is meeting its investment objectives. For plan sponsors who choose this option, Morningstar Associates will serve as a fiduciary in advising on the plan’s investments.
• The “Approved Solution” includes a demographic screening of the company’s employee base, a category-level line-up, a customized investment policy statement, and ongoing investment monitoring. If the plan sponsor adheres to the recommendations of Morningstar Associates and chooses funds from the premier list, Morningstar Associates will serve as a fiduciary in advising on the plan’s investments.
• The “Flexible Solution” includes access to a list of funds, ongoing investment monitoring, and Morningstar Associates’ investment policy guidebook. A plan sponsor selecting the Flexible Solution can work with either a broker or consultant to design the plan’s investment line-up.  Morningstar Associates is not acting in a fiduciary capacity under this option.

According to the firms, the agreement between NYLIM Retirement Plan Services and Morningstar Associates creates the largest undertaking of its kind in the industry and represents the first time a leading retirement plan provider is offering Morningstar Associates’ investment consulting and fiduciary services to its entire plan sponsor client base and their advisors.

Portfolio Complete will be available to NYLIM’s 1,500 retirement plan sponsor clients as well as new prospects, and will be totally integrated into NYLIM’s core retirement product. 

For plan sponsors working with a financial advisor, the product has been designed to work “seamlessly” to complement the financial advisor’s role, according to NYLIM.  The product will be made available in addition to NYLIM Retirement Plan Services’ traditional investment consulting practice.