CUNA and ERS Collaborate to Provide Fiduciary Protection

In an effort to help financial advisers and plan sponsors meet fiduciary obligations, CUNA Mutual Retirement Solutions has partnered with investment monitoring subsidiary Envestnet | Retirement Solutions (ERS).

Due to the constant change of market dynamics, as well as evolving regulations such as the upcoming Department of Labor (DOL) fiduciary rule, plan sponsors and plan advisers are considering outsourcing substitutions in order to ensure fulfillment of fiduciary responsibility. ERS Fiduciary Advantage looks to help plan sponsor/plan adviser relationships by delivering fiduciary protection, support and investment monitoring, through the use of technology, institutional caliber-research and a staff of investment professionals.

Through the use of the ERS SCORE (Style, Cost, Organization, Risk and Execution) methodology, as well as qualitative and quantitative criteria, ERS will be able to examine financial products in order to provide a subset of investments. The plan fiduciary solution will also offer data integration, research, analytic tools and comprehensive reporting, according to Chris Phillips, director of institutional sales for CUNA Mutual Retirement Solutions.

“We believe ERS will deliver the level of customization advisers expect, along with an integrated platform that will bring both value and ease of use,” says Phillips. It’s everything retirement plan advisers and plan sponsors are looking for to meet their obligations to participants.”