Message from the Firm

By Fred Reish

Welcome to the first edition of our Advisor newsletter.

This newsletter is written for retirement plan advisors, such as investment advisors, financial advisors (i.e., brokers), and consultants. The purpose of the newsletter is to provide timely information to advisors, together with legal and practical commentary to help them in their work with plan sponsors and fiduciaries.

However, while this newsletter is written from the perspective of the advisor, the information is also valuable to plan sponsors, fiduciaries, benefits attorneys, providers, and others in the 401(k) community. (Our primary focus will be on 401(k) and other participant-directed plans--like 403(b)s and 457s, but we will also, from time to time, comment on significant issues for other types of retirement plans.)

In our view, the advisor community is maturing--in the sense that most plan sponsors already have experience with 401(k) plans. As a result, they are looking for help from advisors who are knowledgeable about the investment, design and operation of 401(k) plans. In other words, plan sponsors are "forcing" the advisor community to bring greater expertise and consulting to the table. That means that advisors need to see themselves as plan consultants, with their investment knowledge being just one part of the equation.

Through this newsletter, we hope to contribute to the advisor community by discussing a wide range of plan investment, design and operational issues, including issues that affect advisors directly, as well as ideas for successful plans. With the help of the advisor community, we can accomplish that. Please give us your ideas on how we can help. Working together, we can improve the retirement benefits for working Americans.

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Employee Benefits