2021
Recordkeeping Survey
Industry Snapshot
401(k) Plans
For plan sponsors, 401(k)s mean a lot of choice in terms of recordkeeper options available. The harder decisions, says Brian O’Keefe, PLANSPONSOR director of research and surveys, are: How should you differentiate between providers that offer different value propositions: asset managers vs. banks vs. insurance companies vs. administrators? Do you use a third-party administrator (TPA) for some plan work, or bundle with the recordkeeper? What about bundling payroll or health savings account (HSA) platforms?
The SageView Advisory Group LLC request for proposals (RFP) management team maintains a database of over 200 potential RFP questions, says Managing Director Jon Chambers, with the firm in Moraga, California. With RFPs for a large, complex 401(k), the firm might use 100 to 150 of the questions; for a smaller 401(k) with a mainstream investment and plan design, it might use 40 to 50.
Chambers typically asks each vendor how much the number of participants in its plans has grown in the past 10 years, and also how much the numbers have declined. “If there are several years of participant headcount contraction, that could indicate problems retaining clients,” he says.
“We don’t ask questions about specific investment lineups,” he notes. “As investment advisers, we anticipate creating a new plan menu after the RFP is complete. We do ask about investment flexibility.”
The question list continues to evolve, Chambers says. Besides asking about service standards, recordkeeping systems, payroll interface and fee models, SageView now also seeks to know, for instance:
- In the past five years, has your firm experienced a cybersecurity or physical security breach, in which an unauthorized person or entity accessed your environment/s, that required notification be sent to plan sponsor/s or participant/s?
- What diversity and inclusion statistics are relevant for your organization, and what initiatives has your firm taken to further its diversity and inclusiveness?
—PS
Total assets
Total plans
Total participants
612,130
76,015,115
$6,569B
Total assets
Total plans
Total participants
612,130
76,015,115
$6,569B
Total assets
Total plans
Total participants
612,130
76,015,115
$6,569B
Total assets
Total plans
Total participants
612,130
76,015,115
$6,569B
