2017
PLANADVISER Retirement Plan Adviser Survey

When choosing recordkeepers and investment managers, advisers focus on their preferred firms

Survey Data

Survey Data

Top Criteria Used to Decide Which Funds Are Appropriate for Plans

1st2nd3rd4th
Performance (1-year return)13.6%4.5%36.4%22.7%
Performance (5-year return)21.9%37.0%19.2%16.4%
Performance vs. benchmarks50.0%29.1%14.5%4.5%
Manager tenure6.5%14.5%14.5%29.0%
Brand4.0%8.0%12.0%28.0%
Style drift8.5%6.4%21.3%38.3%
Total assets17.6%11.8%5.9%0.0%
Sharpe ratio18.6%24.3%22.9%20.0%
Share class availability11.5%5.8%26.9%23.1%
Adviser support7.1%7.1%14.3%21.4%
Supporting materials11.1%0.0%22.2%11.1%
Fee structure for adviser20.0%0.0%10.0%10.0%
Fee structure for plan21.2%16.5%24.7%18.8%
Plan demographics33.3%12.8%20.5%10.3%