Survey: New Year’s Resolutions From Top Plan Advisers

Top retirement plan advisers are starting the new year with a focus on client prospecting, team building and enhancing financial wellness programs for plan sponsors, according to the Q4 PLANADVISER Top Retirement Adviser Pulse Survey.

This final polling of PLANADVISER’s 2023 top retirement plan advisers asked about professional New Year’s resolutions both for their practice and their clients. The survey, which was fielded in December and taken by 47 advisers, was the last for the 2023 group; PLANADVISER will be announcing the 2024 top advisers later this quarter.

When queried about key focus areas for their practice in the new year, large majorities of advisers, respectively, noted a focus on client prospecting/attraction (82.6%) and on retention (78.3%). Team building rounded out the top three (58.7%).

The practice areas of staff training and recruiting new staff were cited by less than one-quarter of respondents. Succession planning and diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives drew many fewer responses—less than 10% for each—perhaps signaling at least short-term stability among these top adviser practices.

When asked to comment on their plans, advisers elaborated on the themes of client prospecting and internal improvements.

“We have gotten away from prospecting the ideal plan sponsor,” wrote Christopher Connolly, partner, Capital Analysts of New England Inc. “We have referrals, but they are not always ideal. We are actively prospecting our ideal clients this year and anticipate the needle to move because of it.”

“More efficient strategies for both client management and prospecting,” wrote Sally Johnson, partner and managing director, Creative Planning Retirement Services.

“Market-based (request for proposals or request for information) fee benchmarking for larger clients (greater than $100 million in assets),” wrote Jon Chambers, managing director, SageView Advisory Group. “We run database fee benchmarking annually, but going more than five years without an RFP or RFI is a potential litigation risk, so I plan more RFP/RFI projects for [this] year.”

John O’Brien, partner, Venture Visionary Partners, pointed to the promotion of clients as one key area. “Promote local and regional plan clients in seeking recognition based on their commitment to employee retirement benefit programs.  To assist them in their retention and recruiting efforts by highlighting how they set a best-practice standard in this space,” O’Brien wrote.

Paul D’Aiutolo, senior vice president, investments and senior retirement plan consultant, UBS Financial Services Inc., gave a New Year’s message of: “Refresh. Revitalize. Focus. Positivity.”

Goals for Clients

When it came to resolutions for their client work, financial wellness options were the top area of focus, followed by the related participant education.

Those findings seem to fit well with reporting PLANADVISER did in 2023 that noted the push by more advisers to offer robust participant offerings—whether to meet the needs of their clients or, in some cases, to make themselves or their firm available for participant wealth management.

In the “other” items area, advisers cited: finding more efficiencies, adding managed accounts and doing a target-date fund review.

In commentary, many advisers reiterated their focus on participant outcomes.

Tony Powers, president, KerberRose Wealth Management, wrote that his team will seek to have plan sponsor clients “[f]ocus on both their team’s financial well-being and physical. Too many times, the financial stresses are being overlooked.”

Kim Cochrane, director at Raffa Retirement Services, a division of Hub International, wrote, “I would like plan sponsors to work on surveying their employees in 2024 to make sure they are building a benefits program that is truly tailored to their employees’ needs.”

Ellen Lander, founder of Renaissance Benefit Advisors Group LLC, wrote that she’d like her clients to “keep doing what you’re doing—staying engaged—always being receptive to new ideas that they should consider for their people and plans.”

Robert Massa, managing director, Qualified Plan Advisors, wants his clients to “commit to helping us meet with their employees more, provide regular financial wellness sessions on-site and offer contests and incentive for improving personal financial outcomes.”

Tuyen Pham, 401(k) consultant and practice leader, Pensionmark Financial Group LLC, provided an overall goal for plan sponsors and participants, writing that he’d like to: “Make the 401(k) a more common topic.”

And Jason Chepenik, senior vice president of retirement and wealth, OneDigital, had a positive message for all advisers—and people—heading into the new year: “Gratefulness and healthy guidance … for everyone who has helped me and my team … personally and professionally.”