Products February 7, 2022

Paper Offers Tutorial for Choosing DC Plan Lifetime Income Investments

Groom Law Group has published a guide that discusses fiduciary duties in the context of providing lifetime income options within defined contribution plans.

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Groom Law Group has published, “Guaranteeing A Secure Retirement: A Practical Guide for Selecting DC Plan Lifetime Income Options.”

Written by Michael Kreps, a principal at Groom and co‐chair of the firm’s Retirement Services Practice Group, the paper says more employers than ever are adding lifetime income investment options to their defined contribution (DC) plans. It says plan fiduciaries have a duty to prudently select and monitor a lifetime income investment, just as they would with any plan investment. 

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The paper points out that the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act of 2019 sought to make it easier to offer DC plan lifetime income options by creating a fiduciary safe harbor for these investments. A lifetime income investment can be used as the default investment for a DC plan, and it can qualify as a qualified default investment alternative (QDIA), provided that certain regulatory conditions are met.

The paper is intended to provide plan sponsors and other DC plan fiduciaries with a practical guide to help in the selection of lifetime income investments. It first explains what it means to be a fiduciary and then discusses fiduciary duties in the context of providing lifetime income options within DC plans.

Although the paper primarily refers to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) and 401(k) plans, the general concepts and considerations apply equally to non‐ERISA DC plans, including church, 457 and 403(b) plans. 

Groom notes that the guide was not written to address the facts or circumstances of any particular plan sponsor or fiduciary; therefore, it should not be construed as providing legal opinions, tax advice or investment advice. Readers should consult their legal, tax and investment advisers before making any decisions with respect to their plans.

The guide is available here.

Products February 4, 2022

AssetMark Launches Marketing Advantage Platform

The all-in-one marketing platform seeks to help advisers implement powerful marketing strategies, build relationships and grow their business.

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AssetMark has announced the launch of AssetMark Marketing Advantage, an all-in-one marketing platform that helps financial advisers build relationships and grow their businesses with a robust suite of ready-to-use tools.

The omnichannel marketing platform features a comprehensive collection of client-facing and compliance-friendly content including videos, articles, emails, social media and infographics. It provides advisers with best-practice marketing and practice management resources, as well as customer relationship management (CRM) integration, automated email campaigns and a turnkey event dashboard.

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Advisers can leverage the platform to customize a modern, mobile-optimized website that seamlessly integrates with all the available content.

Paired with AssetMark’s personalized business consulting expertise and proprietary thought leadership, Marketing Advantage gives financial advisers the ability to market their practice in a scalable, targeted way that helps drive growth and fosters effective client communication.

“Amid an increasingly competitive industry, digital marketing is more important than ever for firms looking to effectively showcase their business,” says Matt Matrisian, AssetMark senior vice president, chief channel officer. “AssetMark Marketing Advantage allows them to efficiently implement a powerful marketing strategy while they focus their time and efforts on clients.”

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