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The New Realities: Managing 401(k) Retirement Plans In a 408(b)(2) World

If you’ve ever sold a 401k plan, you probably know everything’s changed. In the new full-disclosure environment, plan sponsors are looking much more closely at the work product, the compensation, and the value you deliver than they have in the past.

And nowadays you can’t just deliver value to stand out from the crowd. You also have to make sure your clients and prospects understand what makes your service unique. Value is king, as always, but accountability and documentation are now prime supporting players.

In this presentation by Mutual of Omaha you’ll learn just what it all means… how to navigate the new rules and regulations of 408(b)(2) while serving your clients well and continuing to grow your business.

The New Realities: Managing 401(k) Retirement Plans In a 408(b)(2) World

How do you address the myriad of new disclosure requirements in the new world of 408(b)(2)? It’s not easy.

What it is

In this presentation Mutual of Omaha offers a guide to handling the complexities of a new legal environment. You’ll learn about appropriately introducing your clients to the new realities, ways to justify fees, and tools to effectively manage your legal obligations – and plan sponsors’ expectations – throughout the relationship.

What it means to you

As a successful 401(k) advisor you must not only comply with the new legal requirements. You must also leverage as many aspects of the new environment as possible to keep your business thriving. In addition to knowing the law, you must be able to demonstrate your unique value and show your clients and prospects the clear value in the services they receive for fees.

How you can use the information

You’ll be able to use the model presented here to tailor your own sales/prospecting processes to successfully navigate the new 408(b)(2) world. You’ll learn how top advisors are turning the new requirements into new opportunities. You’ll learn how to turn your sales and management processes into tools that meet all the new requirements as well as foster a closer relationship with your clients and help you grow your business.

Here’s some of what you’ll learn:

Learn to benchmark fees: First and foremost, disclosure must be complete. Learn how advisors must make plan sponsors aware of fees for both direct and indirect services – and must furnish complete data about any other terms of service contracts. Understand the Department of Labor’s grievance procedure for plan sponsors if a service provider does not comply. Learn to benchmark fees using industry databases or third-party tools as a clear and clean way to ensure compliance.
Learn tips for managing the new accountability: In this new environment, accountability is key. You’ll learn tips on keeping detailed and accurate records. You’ll learn how to document and address requirements for processes, commitments, plan performances, and participants’ feedback.
Learn to leverage client input: Advisors must provide themselves with a hedge against any liability due to mistakes or negligence. A good starting place is to plan to meet with existing and prospective clients to:
– Create a plan sponsor check list
– Review their service provider’s fees and services
– Make them aware of any hidden fees
– Explain the nature of indirect fees
– Negotiate fee reductions and improve services
– Review your own service agreement
This process also becomes an effective marketing tool and helps both advisor and sponsor better understand the scope of services, fees and services.

Advisors, check the 401(k) Rekon calendar for the next opportunity in your area to learn from this presentation – at no charge to you.

Tools You Can Use

Helping Your Clients Build a Better 401k

As a top professional 401k advisor you know how to serve your clients’ best interests. Yet clients often get emotional in the short-term and keep you from managing as effectively as you’d like.

So how do you manage client emotions during periods of declining value? Now you can learn three new approaches that help you more often turn good intentions into good outcomes.

It’s critical to help clients understand how misguided expectations in the short term can lead to emotion-driven decisions that result in less-than-ideal long-term outcomes. For example, clients may decide they want to regularly replace funds in order to keep their menu “best-in-class.” It’s a nice idea – a good intention – but it often backfires when they choose to dump a declining fund just before it goes up again.

In this presentation American Funds explains how to teach your clients to:

Concentrate on the long-term by using an Investment Policy Statement
Consider both quantitative and qualitative criteria
Use a watch list

Rekon Welcomes New Sponsors and Speakers

Industry providers are invited to present new information and useful tools to help successful advisors manage and grow their businesses. Providers in all areas are finding our symposia to be efficient, effective ways to keep in touch with advisors about important developments. This month we welcome new provider speakers/sponsors:

Jason Hamilton of ING – “Fiduciary Solutions”
Tampa on 06/07/11
Rick Zdanowski of Lincoln Financial – “Building a Better QDIA”
Tampa on 06/07/11
Kevin Poland of The Renaissance Group – “Advisor Best Practices”
Tampa on 06/07/11
Art Villar of Blackrock – “401(k) Participants Behaviors & Attitudes”
Costa Mesa on 05/17/11
Ross Sims of ING – “Fiduciary Solutions”
Atlanta on 05/05/11
Margaret Pierce of American Century – “Creating a Service Overview”
Boston on 04/28/11
Joe DeSantis of The Hartford – “Grow your numbers: Start with Form 5500″
Costa Mesa 05/17/11
Joe Smith of John Hancock Retirement – “Retirement Income: Today vs. Tomorrow”
Ft. Lauderdale on 04/26/11
Mark Boettcher of Janus – “The Art of Wow”
Sacramento on 04/12/11

401(k) Rekon Update

Advisor Education Three Little Bears

Just like a good recipe, creating the perfect educational forums for you – our advisor audience – takes a lot of care and planning – the right ingredients, the right proportions, and the right method. And we’ve been listening carefully to all the great feedback you’ve been giving us.

Our latest efforts to incorporate your wishes reminded me a little bit of the story of the porridge in the Three Little Bears. So go ahead, if you dare, and find out how we’re responding.

Advisor Education and the Three Little Bears

In the classic story of The Three Little Bears, Goldilocks found their porridge by turns too hot, too cold and, eventually, just right. Our version of making porridge – educating advisors – takes fine-tuning to get just right, too.

The ingredients include resources for practice management, legislative trends, new products and features, and so on – all important and necessary. And the recipe calls for mixing everything in just the right proportions.

So, after a full year of hosting events and a lot of advisor feedback, we’re adjusting our recipe slightly. We’re still offering all the benefits advisors want most: fast, free, and local.

Fast: Half-day events, 30-minute presentations
Free: Content determines the value of an event, not the price
Local: Because travel is expensive, costs too much time and money

Advisors want both actionable ideas and education. They also want to know what’s new, and what’s working now. While value propositions (a.k.a. speaker commercials) have always been an important part of the recipe, advisor response to them has varied. Some were rated too long; some, not long enough.

Now – following our favorite theme at Rekon 401(k), “Create a Better Way” – we’re addressing the issue. We’ll now be dividing the usual 30-minute presentation into two parts: 1) 25 minutes for a value-add presentation, and 2) 5 minutes for a speaker’s value proposition.

A 5-minute slot is just enough time to present a single best idea. Advisor feedback after testing has been excellent. Some sponsors may even introduce another speaker or partner for the 5-minute slot. Either way, more actionable ideas and more diverse topics make for a better symposium.

We anticipate our new recipe will bring us one step closer to “just right,” and we look forward to hearing from you.

Ross Marino

P.S. Seen our new calendar? Sort by state or sponsor. www.rekonintel.com/calendar

Upcoming Symposia – Mark Your Calendar and Register Early!

Don’t miss out on the next symposium in your area. Check our calendar listings each month to see which providers and which topics to expect. Upcoming cities include:

Tampa, FL
Cincinnati, OH
Nashville, TN
Baltimore, MD
San Diego, CA
Charlotte, NC
And more…

What Attendees Are Saying…

“Pertinent info. Wide variety of topics. Great venue, great presentations.”
Jeremy Winters, Wilbanks Securities

“Learning more in depth about these solutions available for my clients & prospects.”
Marjorie Graham, Merrill Lynch Global Wealth

“Good variety of materials/topics, nice format.”
Lisa Keckler, ML&R Wealth Management LLC

“It gave me a great overall picture of the current Ret. Plan Issues I don’t know.”
Richard Feldmann, ING Financial Partners

“It was sufficient, informative and from a variety of sources. Good diversity.”
Jeff Broadhurst, Broadhurst Financial Advisors, Inc.

“Variety of presentations and many tools to take back and utilize in our 401k business.”
Kathleen O’Connor, Schwab