Live Polling. sponsored by

Transcription

1 Live Polling sponsored by PANC17_LivePoll_p3.indd 1

2 Collective Insight From The Nation s Top Retirement Plan Advisers Throughout the three days in October of our PLANADVISER National Conference, held at the JW Marriott Orlando, we incorporated live polling technology into the flow of our panel discussions and presentations. This allowed speakers to ask questions of the retirement plan advisers in attendance to gauge their insight into a variety of critical trends, concepts and challenges facing the industry. In no specific order, the following pages consolidate the results of our conference live polling to reveal the opinions and strategies being deployed by some of the nation s top retirement advisory experts. Special thanks to Fidelity Investments for sponsoring our live polling technology throughout the event. We hope you enjoy these results. Best regards, Alison Cooke Mintzer Editor-in-Chief PLANADVISER PANC17_LivePoll_p3.indd 2

3 Live Polling Results What type of adviser or financial services professional would you consider yourself? n Registered representative or broker primarily working for commissions n Fee-based registered investment adviser n Insurance agent or annuity sales professional n Other, such as TPA, recordkeeper or benefits consultant What changes has your firm made to its compensation structure in the last several years? n Significant shift away from use of commission-based compensation n Little change, because firm already offered fee-based approaches n Little change, because firm will utilize exemptions or other approaches to continue primary use of commissions n Debate is ongoing about shifting away from commissions 17.7% 61.8% 0.0% 20.6% 32.1% 45.3% 9.4% 9.4% n Other (please share) 3.8% How has the quality of competition shifted in terms of the robustness of offerings, willingness to be a fiduciary and fees charged? n The competition has not noticeably shifted n The competition is weaker on both quality and pricing n The competition is stronger on service quality n The competition is stronger on fees n The competition is stronger on service quality and fees 9.3% 14.0% 16.3% 7.0% 53.5% Have rollovers and wealth management advising increased or decreased as a point of focus for your individual work as an adviser? n Focus on wealth management and rollovers has diminished significantly n Focus on wealth management and rollovers has diminished slightly n No change in the focus on wealth management and rollovers n Focus on wealth management and rollovers has increased 8.2% 14.3% 57.1% 20.4% Has your business faced any measure of fee compression in recent years? n No, pricing for services has remained stable for some time n Yes, we have experienced mild to moderate fee compression that is manageable n Yes, we have experienced significant fee compression that is manageable n Yes, we have experienced dramatic fee compression that threatens our model 21.4% 51.8% 19.6% 7.1% As a plan adviser, how do you handle a plan s investment lineup? n Handle all research and investment decisions myself (or with my team) 33.9% n Utilize my firm s centralized 33.9% due diligence research to narrow fund choices, then select the underlying funds myself (or with my team) n Outsource all investment decisions to a 3(38) investment fiduciary n A combination of the above choices 12.5% 19.6% PANC17_LivePoll_p3.indd 3

4 In 2018, my greatest opportunity will be: Do you personally have an HSA account? n Adjusting my practice to post DOL requirements n Expanding the services my team offers to add value to our clients n Retaining clients and maintaining my current fee structure n Reducing the complexity of our practice and becoming more efficient n Growing new clients and expanding alternative revenue streams 2.1% 20.4% 4.1% 12.2% 61.2% In 2018, my clients top priority will be: n Reducing retirement plan expenses (investments, recordkeeping and advisory) n Reducing the administrative burden associated with their plan n Mitigating the risk associated with offering a retirement plan n Managing other benefit expenses such as health care 6.0% 24.0% 36.0% 34.0% Do you offer a financial wellness program? n Yes 75.0% n No 25.0% n Yes 71.4% n No 28.6% Do you charge separately for your financial wellness program? n Yes 21.8% n No 78.3% Is financial wellness a profitable part of your business? n Yes 16.0% n No 48.0% n Not applicable 36.0% Do you have a well-defined strategy for your financial wellness program? n Yes 39.0% n I m winging it 61.0% Do you consider being a fiduciary to be part of your sales pitch/differentiation from competitors? n Yes 60.5% n No 7.9% n Sometimes 31.6% PANC17_LivePoll_p3.indd 4

5 Do you provide 3(38) services? Managed programs are best for: n At plan level only 76.9% n For participants only 0.0% n Both at plan level and for participants 23.1% n Outsourcing I don t want to do this myself, but I can guide a client to a good manager n Allowing me to demonstrate my investment management skills 33.3% 66.7% What is your interest in 3(38) services? n I m in! I act as an investment manager now n I have been thinking about this but want to learn more about specific risks 84.6% 0.0% n What s 3(38)? 15.4% Do you think plan sponsors value that their adviser serves as a fiduciary? n Yes, most do 39.0% n Yes, some do 53.7% n No 4.9% n Not sure 2.4% What market do you target for your 3(38) services? n Startups to $2mm 0.0% n $2mm $10mm 13.3% n >$10mm 13.3% n All markets 73.3% Do you think plan sponsors understand what it means to have their adviser serve as a fiduciary? n Yes, most do 2.5% n Yes, some do 52.5% n No 42.5% n Not sure 2.5% As we look a few years out, we are considering new locations for future PANCs. If we moved the event, in which city would you be most likely to attend? n Orlando (stay at JW Marriott) 61.7% n Chicago 19.2% n Denver 4.3% n Dallas 6.4% n Phoenix 8.5% Do you think most of your competitors are plan-level fiduciaries? n Yes, most are 29.3% n Yes, some are 51.2% n No 12.2% n Not sure 7.3% PANC17_LivePoll_p3.indd 5

6 Do you think plan sponsors expect their retirement plan adviser to be a plan-level fiduciary? n Yes, most do 57.1% n Yes, some do 40.5% n No 0.0% n Not sure 2.4% In what flavor of fiduciary do you offer services to plan sponsors? n 3(16) 2.3% n 3(21) 37.2% n 3(38) 0.0% n 3(16) and 3(21) 0.0% n 3(21) and 3(38) 55.8% n 3(16), 3(21) and 3(38) 4.7% Do you offer plan sponsors fiduciary education? n Yes 85.4% n No 14.6% PANC17_LivePoll_p3.indd 6