10 Years of Focusing on Advisers

This is a special edition of PLANADVISER, as we mark our 10th year of publishing, and the stories herein highlight changes looking back over the past decade and toward what is yet to come.

Our cover story, “New Frontier,” considers the many successes of the retirement plan industry in the past decade and anticipates developments over the next. Certainly, the passing of the Pension Protection Act (PPA) in 2006 was a momentous landmark for the industry, as it led to automatic features and the use of target-date funds (TDFs) as the qualified default investment alternative (QDIA)—sidestepping participants’ inertia and ensuring that their portfolios are properly diversified and rebalanced over time.

Further, more advisers have become fiduciaries to their plans, and this has resulted in marked improvements. Plans with fiduciary advisers are substantially more likely to have employer matching contributions. They are also more apt to have nonelective or profit-sharing contributions, automatic enrollment, automatic escalation and a written investment policy statement (IPS).

With the average age of advisers now 51, it has become imperative for retirement planning practices to attract the next wave of talent. “Millennials Essential” examines strategies advisers have taken to successfully attract this demographic group, ages 18 through 34. First and foremost, while Millennials are decades away from their own retirement and, it would seem, completely indifferent to these concerns, they are keenly interested in helping people. If the work of a retirement plan adviser is positioned as essential to getting people adequately prepared for a retirement that could span 30 years or more, and as making a tremendous impact on their lives, such a career could resonate spectacularly with Millennials.

We all know that holistic financial wellness programs continue to pique the interest of plan sponsors and participants alike. Because retirement plan advisers specialize in that one area, “Partnering on Advice” examines the professionals—including recordkeepers, defined contribution investment only (DCIO) providers and investment managers—that you can align with to touch on all financial aspects of participants’ lives.

“Reality Check” looks at how advisers can help participants plan their retirement income strategies—and it may surprise you to learn that they think drawing down will be uneven throughout the course of a person’s golden years. Early on, when people first retire and are relatively young, their expenses may be higher, as they travel and make efforts to enjoy their newfound freedom, than in later years.

“Fiduciary Crunch Time” assesses how advisers will comply with the new fiduciary rule, and our columnists add more color to compliance topics.

We hope you enjoy this special edition of PLANADVISER and that it inspires you to reflect on not just the magazine’s but the industry’s many triumphs.