SERVICE TO 401(k) AND 403(b) PLAN SPONSORS

Focused Wealth Management serves as a 3(38) co-fiduciary in writing to your retirement plan. As a 3(38) fiduciary, we shoulder the bulk of responsibilities to help plan sponsors meet the multitude of obligations to their organization’s retirement plan. Over the past two years, we have rolled out our patented Five Step Focused Fiduciary presentation to help plan sponsors fulfill their fiduciary duties.

INITIAL PHASE

  • Focused Wealth Management presents Five Step Focused Fiduciary and, along with the plan committee, sets fiduciary goals for the year
  • Define roles and responsibilities
  • Draft Investment Policy Statement (IPS)

ONGOING PLAN MANAGEMENT BY Focused Wealth Management

  • Daily monitoring of investment options
  • Develop, monitor, adjust and rebalance risk-based investment models
  • ERISA 404(c) compliance
  • Ensure that as a whole, the menu of investment options provide distinguishable risk/return characteristics

QUARTERLY MEETINGS WITH PLAN COMMITTEE

  • Review Quarterly Plan Report provided by asset custodian
    • Focused Wealth Management provides a detailed review of all aspects of the plan, including investment performance, plan demographics, and participation.
      • Highlight specific elements of the plan that we think are functioning particularly well
      • Address areas where we see potential for improvement
  • Review investment options’ performance against best-fit benchmark and peer group
  • Assess each investment option’s performance over time (e.g., over a full market cycle—generally three to five years) in order to not overemphasize short-term results
  • Note if there has been any significant change in the asset size of an investment option. If this is the case, determine if the change could hamper the option’s ability to meet its investment objectives or adversely impact the option’s investment implementation
  • Review the reasonableness of each investment option’s fees and expenses when compared to similar alternatives in the marketplace
  • Identify investment options which fall short of expectations or otherwise appear to be candidates for replacement.
  • These investment options will be placed on a watch list at the discretion of the plan fiduciaries.
  • Continue to monitor the investment option for an additional period of time for certainty that any perceived shortcomings are neither temporary nor erroneous and that removal is in fact warranted.

To ensure that:

  • The investment options are able to tolerate cash in-flows and out-flows consistent with the size of the Plan and the nature of the participant population (e.g., if unusually large amounts of distributions are anticipated).
  • Participants remain able to create investment portfolios with aggregate risk and return characteristics appropriate for their current investment needs and individual investment styles.
  • Any investment education offered to employees is consistent with their general level of investment expertise. Document quarterly meeting minutes!

INFORM PLAN COMMITTEE OF ONGOING REGULATORY CHANGES

The retirement plan regulatory environment is currently undergoing multiple fundamental changes. The firm has on retainer Regulatory Compliance, a nationally known firm which assists broker-dealers and investment advisors with industry-critical compliance responsibilities. We send press releases directly to you via email and set up conference calls if we feel the change must be addressed immediately. Otherwise we address such changes in the quarterly investment meetings.

Retirement Plan Education Policy

Through hands on experience, Focused Wealth Management finds that a retirement plan’s participant education policy is just as important as the investment policy. We recognize that the success of a retirement plan is largely driven by the level of understanding and appreciation participants have for the program. The plan education policy will lay out, with calendar regularity, when and how we are going to meet with plan participants, our main goals (that we establish at our Five Step Focused Fiduciary meeting), and the details of our communication plan. Frequent access to high quality investing and financial planning education undoubtedly has a positive effect on employee retirement readiness by developing the high level of commitment needed from plan participants to be retirement ready.

OUR COMMITMENT TO YOUR PARTICIPANTS SPANS MULTIPLE FRONTS:

Meeting with participants before the conversion of the plan

Monthly on-site meetings for the first three months, then quarterly thereafter

Plan hotline to reach an Focused Wealth Management advisor

Without question – on-site, face-to-face meetings are the most important driver of a successful education program. Our local presence is a differentiating factor in terms of the quality and frequency of interaction we can deliver to your plan.

1. Participation rates

2. Deferral rates

3. Account balances

4. Asset allocations

The plan’s education policy is also an extremely valuable plan management tool from a fiduciary standpoint, as it also allows us to document our employee education efforts.

Focused Wealth Management’s commitment to onsite education:

  1. Initial Phase
    • Meeting with your participants at the outset of our relationship to introduce the new program and give participants a comfort level with Focused Wealth Management as their new provider
    • Explaining the benefits of the plan: advantages of participation, reviewing plan highlights, discussing investment basics and examining the new investment options
  2. Ongoing Education
    • Meet with your participants one-on-one on a quarterly basis
      • This is an incredible value added service that generates great excitement among plan participants
      • Gives participants a chance to discuss their personal financial situation in a private setting
    • Meet quarterly in larger groups to explore the plan in more depth, discuss recent market and economic trends and revisit the concept of asset allocation.
      • Through these meetings we reinforce participants’ understanding across all facets of the plan and help them use it as a wealth creation tool.
      • We stress an open, informal approach in our on-site meetings. We stimulate discussion and facilitate interaction so participants can get the most out of each meeting. We keep group sizes small whenever possible. This is important to reduce participants’ sense of “intimidation” that can come from being in large group settings, which can make them reluctant to ask questions.
  3. Supplemental Communications
    • We are able to consult with individual participants as needed. This may be by scheduling time between meetings or after meetings, having participants visit at your offices or through separate phone consultation during the year. We are not afraid to veer from our standard process if your plan demands more flexibility. We will hold meetings via conference call for participants who cannot attend an on-site meeting. We have had materials translated into Spanish and other languages, and created other custom pieces. We have the flexibility and expertise to meet your needs in the critical area of participant education, and understand that a successful campaign requires a lot more than simply conducting periodic meetings and “handing out brochures”.