401k plan sponsors are charged with acting as a prudent expert when managing their ERISA plan, a role that many in the under $250 million market are ill equipped to fulfill. Which is why they hire experienced record keepers, money managers and advisors also known service providers.
So the critical fiduciary role for plan sponsors is to conduct a prudent process to find third party providers and determine if they are not just qualified but also the right fit for their company and employees.
Institutional Investor announced their inaugural ratings of DC providers, Defined Contribution Industry Leaders (DCIL), with Merrill Lynch, Legg Mason and CAPTRUST named as top record keeper, DC investment only (DCIO) and broker dealer-RIA respectively. The top five in each category were listed with a complete report also available.
Many plan sponsors just rely on their plan advisor to select and monitor service providers. But what resources are they relying on to make that decision? The DCIL report is based on surveys with experienced DC plan advisors with an average of $500 million under management to provide the so called “wisdom of the crowd”. Institutional Investor has a rich history rating financial services professionals and providers which their 230,000 subscribers have come to rely upon.
For the first time BDs (broker dealers and RIAs (registered investment advisors) that support DC advisors were ranked. Advisors need support from these organizations is order to best service clients.
Rankings of top Institutional Plan Advisors (IPAs) by region will be announced in early September.
This year’s top Record Keepers:
- Merrill Lynch
- T. Rowe Price
- Prudential
- MassMutual
- Empower-Retirement
This year’s top DCIO Providers:
- Legg Mason
- Allianz
- J.P. Morgan
- BlackRock
- T. Rowe Price
This year’s top Broker Dealers:
- CAPTRUST
- Merrill Lynch
- Morgan Stanley
- GRP
- UBS
(Note that Fred Barstein, Editor-in-Chief of 401kTV advised Institutional Investor on the design of the DCIL study)
