Making a List

Since PLANADVISER’s inception, we have published a list of the most successful advisers drawn from the nominations for PLANSPONSOR’s Retirement Plan Adviser of the Year awards. This year, we have taken that a step further and created PLANADVISER’s Top 100 Retirement Plan Advisers. Beginning on page 41, you can see our list of adviser standouts from those entering the 2011 PLANSPONSOR Retirement Plan Adviser of the Year process—yes, there are 100 individuals or teams spread among those pages. Advisers on this list will be invited to take part in a special half-day workshop in March and join us for a special recognition at the annual PLANSPONSOR/PLANADVISER Awards Dinner. Congratulations to all those who have made the list: Your contributions to the more than 5,000 retirement plans you serve (encompassing $132 billion in plan assets) are duly noted.

Speaking of the Retirement Plan Adviser of the Year, I continue to be amazed at just how many teams participate in that award. To this day, PLANSPONSOR gets more entries for teams than for individuals. While a team can be a powerful combination when all members work together, striking the balance that best segments roles and responsibilities, and keeping it all running smoothly when you bring a new team member on board, can be a challenge. You can see what advisers who are part of a team have to say about the value of a team in “Better Together” (page 54).

Speaking of value, what are you worth? Have you been asked that question from your clients? Perhaps not in so many words but, as fees come under higher scrutiny, there is a growing sense that many services an adviser provides will be seen as commoditized and that, therefore, the retirement plan adviser will have to justify those expenses to his or her plan sponsor clients. Our cover story (page 28) will tell you what some people in the industry suggest doing to avoid that trap, while continuing to be viewed as a premium adviser. Additionally, we have some statistics taken from our annual survey of plan advisers about compensation, fee disclosure, and what advisers charge retirement plan clients.

Speaking of surveys, sister publication PLANSPONSOR is well-known in the industry for its annual DC Survey, and, in this issue, we have published a special segment from that data, with a focus on micro plans. In PLANSPONSOR, a micro plan generally is defined as $5 million or less in assets, but the survey produced such a large sampling of plans with less than $1 million in plan assets, we wanted to show what “true” micro plans were doing —and the dynamics of what plans with less than $1M are doing compared with plans with $1M to $5M are doing may surprise you. You also can see which providers stood out for service to those markets, beginning on page 58.

As we come to the close of another year, I want to thank all of you who have supported PLANADVISER (and its Web site, newsletter, and conference).