2013
PLANADVISER Retirement Plan Adviser Survey
Advisers reveal their favorite retirement plan partners
Methodology
In July and August, approximately 8,467 adviser subscribers to PLANADVISER were asked to respond to a 42-question survey, developed by the PLANADVISER editorial and research teams. Survey questions pertained to the size and scope of the adviser’s qualified plan business, practice management, compensation and client service, as well as his assessments of investment managers, mutual funds and defined contribution (DC) providers. The results of the practice management section of the survey will be highlighted in the November/December edition of PLANADVISER later this year.
At the close of the survey, on August 1, 629 complete responses had been received from retirement plan advisers. To qualify to supply opinions on mutual fund families and specific mutual funds, an adviser had to be personally involved in evaluating and recommending fund choices in an advisory capacity to qualified plan clients; 402 advisers met this qualification.
In order to evaluate defined contribution recordkeepers, advisers had to answer affirmatively that they were personally involved in evaluating and recommending DC plan providers in an advisory capacity when working with qualified plan clients; 404 advisers did so. In addition, an adviser had to have worked with a DC recordkeeper more than once for his favorability rating of that recordkeeper to count. To receive more information on this survey and for additional research available, please contact surveys@assetinternational.com.
Top criteria used to decide which funds are appropriate for plans
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Performance (one-year return) | 1.2% | 15.7% | 32.5% | 24.1% | 26.5% |
| Performance (five-year return) | 24.4% | 33.5% | 20.2% | 12.8% | 9.1% |
| Performance vs. benchmarks | 49.1% | 30.9% | 12.0% | 4.6% | 3.4% |
| Manager tenure | 4.7% | 22.3% | 25.1% | 30.2% | 17.7% |
| Brand | 2.4% | 3.6% | 12.0% | 30.1% | 51.8% |
| Style drift | 7.0% | 16.1% | 24.1% | 34.7% | 18.1% |
| Adviser support | 11.5% | 6.3% | 14.6% | 14.6% | 53.1% |
| Supporting materials | 3.2% | 3.2% | 17.5% | 22.2% | 54.0% |
| Fee structure for adviser | 0.0% | 10.8% | 10.8% | 21.6% | 56.8% |
| Fee structure for plan | 21.5% | 20.4% | 26.5% | 19.4% | 12.2% |
| Plan demographics | 23.6% | 10.9% | 20.6% | 22.4% | 22.4% |