Alera Acquires Plan Advisory Fraser Group

The Alera Group is continuing to build out its retirement plan advisement business with the acquisition of veteran adviser George Fraser’s company, the Fraser Group, the firm announced Tuesday.

Fraser and his team will join Alera’s Scottsdale, Arizona-based retirement plan services division, Benefit Commerce Group, which offers services across employee benefits, commercial property and casualty insurance and retirement plan services. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

George Fraser

The Fraser Group had previously been with the Retirement Benefits Group, whose founding team members were acquired by the SageView Advisory Group in June. Fraser is known for his “pennies on the dollar” model of advisement, which was part of research by behavioral economist Shlomo Benartzi and researchers at UCLA, Carnegie Mellon and Cornell, showing that plan participants “save about 20% more when presented with deferral rates in terms of pennies rather than percentages,” according to the announcement.

“George Fraser is one of the leading lights in the retirement plan industry, and we’re thrilled to welcome him and his team to Alera Group Retirement Plan Services,” Christian Mango, Alera’s executive vice president and national practice leader of retirement plan services, said in a statement.

The Benefit Commerce Group will be incorporating Fraser’s method into its practice, with the retirement division now including both BCG 401(k) Advisors and Fraser Group, according to the announcement.

“My team and I have built our practice by focusing on trying to do the right thing to change the dynamic for retirement plan participants,” Fraser said in a statement. “That includes cutting the jargon and talking in ways people connect with. It also means helping plan sponsors craft exemplary plans they can be confident about.”

Fraser noted that the firm looked for “various scenarios” to grow its reach and decided on Alera Group.

“There aren’t many places where an advisor can walk into a firm of any size—from a small business to a global enterprise—and offer best-in-class solutions,” he said in the statement. “Most importantly, we share a dedication to doing the right thing to help people.”

Alera has made several moves in 2023 to expand its retirement strategy across plan sizes, as well as in participant services. In September, the firm brought on large plan retirement plan consultant Bryan Hissong from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., as well as a financial wellness head, Matt Rafeld, who joined from Edelman Financial Engines.

Mango also came from financial wellness, having joined Alera in 2022 from a role as president of Financial Fitness for Life.