Plan Sponsor Advisors

Jennifer Flodin and Donald Stone founded Plan Sponsor Advisors in 2002, a time when there were lots of defined benefit consulting firms, says Flodin, but not many catering to defined contribution plans in the mid-market. At the beginning, the target market was plans with a couple of million in plan assets up to $20 to $30 million but, as they have grown, so has the company’s market segment, and they have taken on larger plans because “the story resonates upstream,” Flodin says.

The company’s current client base is mostly defined contribution plans ranging from a couple million dollars up to $4 billion in assets located across the country, from Rhode Island to Washington state, though the lion’s share are in the greater Chicago area. The bulk of the company’s work is in investment consulting, although it also offers fee work and vendor searches, Flodin says. The company also has a substantial operational compliance practice. Plan Sponsor Advisors does not really work with participants, although it can help to negotiate education dollars with the vendor, she says.

Most of the firm’s employees are in the Chicago office (including Flodin and Stone), but there is one person who works on special projects for the firm out of Charlotte, North Carolina. The nine staff members include four consultants, three investment team members, an administrative assistant, and a director of sales and marketing. PSA’s team approach means that each client has multiple points of contact, including a consultant and someone from the investment team.

Despite its growth, the firm’s selling point has stayed intact: a boutique focus on retirement plan consulting, and part of that focus comes from the company’s employees. “Our team rocks,” Flodin notes.