#1:  $28 Million Plan - Big Fee Reduction.  We were introduced to a plan through a plan participant.  The plan fiduciaries were relying on an old friend to be the 401(k) advisor (although they admitted that he did not provide any significant services).  The provider was using a share class that was inappropriate based upon the assets in the plan (and which compensated the advisor heavily).  We took over the plan, corrected some defects, negotiated a new deal with another company, and reduced overall costs by more than $150,000 per year.  In addition, the 3-year weighted trailing return on the old plan's funds was 14.21%, while the 3-year weighted trailing return on the lower cost options (the same allocation) was 15.88%.   The return difference was almost $470,000 per year.   

 

#2:  Small Plan - Big Fee Reduction.  We negotiated the fees of a small plan from an "all-in" cost (including hidden fees) of 2.86% down to a total cost of 0.76%.  No change in providers.  Potential fiduciary exposure was addressed, and participants benefitted from an annual savings to the plan of approximately $32,000 per year.     

 

#3:  Another Fee Reduction.  We recently changed providers from a multiple employer plan platform to an individual plan platform because the small/mid-sized plan could negotiate better fees on its own.  Costs were reduced from 1.50% "all-in" (including hidden fees) down to 0.68%.  A Certified Financial Planner was engaged to work directly with participants at no incremental cost to the company.  Lastly, investment funds were changed from bulky, managed funds with additional fee layers to low cost funds from Vanguard and Dimensional.  Annual savings to the plan:  $46,000+. 

 

#4:  Nonprofit Avoids Clawback.  After a state audit, a nonprofit organization was determined to be in violation of guidelines.  Potentially, hundreds of thousands of dollars in contributions and earnings in a retirement plan would subject to clawback.  We met with fiduciaries and counsel, outlined the concerns, addresed the issues, and helped counsel to formulate a response.  Result:  zero clawback, and no penalties.  

 

#5:  Trustee Defends Mismanagement Claim.  A trustee was sued for mismanagement of funds.  We had assisted the trustee's financial advisor with documenting a prudent investment process (in accordance with the Uniform Prudent Investor Act, as adopted in the state).  We assisted trustee's counsel with gathering data and fiduciary documentation.  Result:  the judge dismissed the claim and advised the trustee that he was doing a good job. 

 

#6:  Asset Exposure.  A partner in a medical group reached out with concerns about tax and asset exposure. There were no outstanding claims against the doctor, so planning was appropriate.  Through a course of structuring, separating, incorporating and insuring (with a heaping portion of common sense), we were able to reduce assets exposure tremendously, all with additional benefits of legal tax avoidance (as opposed to illegal tax evasion).

 

#7:  Board Member Concerns (a work in progress).  A board member of a large foundation had concerns about the foundation's investment process.  The foundation had no investment policy statement, and violated the Uniform Prudent Management of Institutional Funds Act ("UPMIFA"), as adopted in the state, by, among other things , failing to verify facts about investment processes, failing to understand the investment processes of certain hedge funds, paying fees in excess of 2% on average, and realizing performance that substantially underperformed benchmarks despite experiencing higher risk.  A new investment policy statement was drafted.  Board members are discussing a move to a passive investment strategy that will be easier to understand, subject to greater verification, easier to monitor, provide benchmark level risk and returns, and comply with UPMIFA.