Staffing an RIA to Serve Small, Midsize Plans

The combination of SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 tax incentives with state-mandated retirement savings programs are expected to increase employer-sponsored retirement plans among small and midsize businesses.

But even as more plans are coming online, there are already a host of businesses with defined contribution retirement plans who could use stronger advisement and provider services, says Brian Boswell, a wealth manager who recently joined Savvy Advisors, the registered investment adviser of Savvy Wealth Inc.

Boswell, who specializes in plans of about $20 million or less in assets, sees a lot of businesses with lackluster plans tacked on through payroll or benefit providers.

“I don’t think, from a business owner’s perspective, that it has to be this way,” Boswell says. “I feel like there is so much room for improvement in [the employer-sponsored plan] space. It’s an overlooked aspect of the financial services industry to really develop what these plan sponsors are looking for and to go out and deliver it to them.”

Brian Boswell

Boswell notes that many plan sponsors in small and midsize markets have limited human resources staff and limited experience with plans and in plan design. He tries to bring 3(38) investment management, along with a 3(16) administrative partner via a recordkeeper or third-party administrator. Meanwhile, his team provides participant education and communication throughout the year by using video and intranet content—not just during open enrollment season.

“It’s very rare that you have all of your employees in one place on any given day anymore,” Boswell says. “You’re working with remote workers, shift workers, and we need reach them in a timely way.”

But how does Boswell support such an experience for clients? He says it is a combination of strong back-office support, the right providers and leveraging advancements in technology, particularly those related to participant outreach.

Boswell had already been finding success supporting 401(k) plans at a “traditional” RIA, in Austin, Texas. But recently joined Savvy, which has about 30 advisers in its RIA division, in part to leverage its integrated platform for advisers, including client management, trading and access to marketing services.

“My day is spent working with my clients or going out to find more clients,” Boswell says.

That work, he says, often entails discussing the “pain points” firms experience with their current plans, then doing requests for proposals to find providers to solve those trouble spots.

“It’s important to find the right recordkeepers and providers that are going to do what [the business] needs them to do at the right value,” he says. “The biggest thing is making sure you have good partners.”

Meanwhile, Boswell is working on a new project with Savvy that will leverage text messaging to communicate and engage with participants. By syncing with firms’ payroll providers, Boswell and team will be able to send notes regarding their plan benefits. These may range from updates on market volatility to reminding participants that they can make catch-up contributions.

“This will give us more touches throughout the year and more of a cadence of communication that will not be as overwhelming as … cramming a lot into one open enrollment meeting,” he says.

In addition to the text messaging system, Boswell says Savvy is working on bringing a pooled employer plan to market that will offer sponsors the fiduciary backing of 3(38) and 3(16) services, as well as avoiding an individual plan audit, which can be a burden to smaller plans.

“We’re very excited about this offering,” he says. “When I tell clients they could be part of [a PEP], they usually say, ‘Where do I sign?’”

Altogether, Boswell sees it as another way to scale more quality plan services to a market that is demanding them.

“I just see this as a great opportunity for advisers,” he says. “Right now, there are no shortage of clients—they are happy to hear what we can offer.”