2017
PLANADVISER Retirement Plan Adviser Survey
When choosing recordkeepers and investment managers, advisers focus on their preferred firms
Methodology
This August and September, approximately 15,000 advisers were asked to respond to the 2017 PLANADVISER Retirement Plan Adviser Survey, developed by this magazine’s editorial and research teams. Survey questions pertained to the size and scope of advisers’ qualified plan business, practice management, compensation and client service, as well as their assessments of investment managers, mutual funds and defined contribution (DC) plan providers. At the close of the survey, 325 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; 212 advisers met this criterion. To evaluate DC plan providers, advisers had to answer affirmatively that, acting in an advisory role, they personally evaluate and recommend these providers for qualified plan clients; 205 advisers did so. In addition, an adviser needed to have worked with a DC plan provider more than once for his favorability rating of that recordkeeper to count. For more information and additional research available, please contact surveys@strategic-i.com.
Top Criteria Used to Decide Which Funds Are Appropriate for Plans
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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. benchmarks | 50.0% | 29.1% | 14.5% | 4.5% |
| Manager tenure | 6.5% | 14.5% | 14.5% | 29.0% |
| Brand | 4.0% | 8.0% | 12.0% | 28.0% |
| Style drift | 8.5% | 6.4% | 21.3% | 38.3% |
| Total assets | 17.6% | 11.8% | 5.9% | 0.0% |
| Sharpe ratio | 18.6% | 24.3% | 22.9% | 20.0% |
| Share class availability | 11.5% | 5.8% | 26.9% | 23.1% |
| Adviser support | 7.1% | 7.1% | 14.3% | 21.4% |
| Supporting materials | 11.1% | 0.0% | 22.2% | 11.1% |
| Fee structure for adviser | 20.0% | 0.0% | 10.0% | 10.0% |
| Fee structure for plan | 21.2% | 16.5% | 24.7% | 18.8% |
| Plan demographics | 33.3% | 12.8% | 20.5% | 10.3% |