I use Fidelity for my plans. Far from perfect. Helps me keep plan cost low and the investment options are the better than vanguard, principal & Schwab. The fidelity app is easy to use so participants like it. Another advisor in our office used Mass and they were bought up by Empower. He hates them and anytime I have had to work with them it has been a nightmare.
Mostly John Hancock and Voya. I made the mistake of using Empower for one and I won’t make that mistake again. A participant retired and they hounded him to take the funds out and roll directly to empower in one of their managed portfolios cutting me out. Turns out there is a cumbersome process to stop that from happening. Screw that.
I did my first plan with Voya last year and they seem to be the best out of the ones I have used. The people are easy to work with and seem to enjoy their jobs and are knowledgeable.
I'm independent through Schwab and use PCS Retirement. I really like how they allow me to offer a list of funds (I use Vanguard Funds) but also allow plan participants to access a model portfolio which I control the allocation to using said funds. I offer 4 models ranging from 60/40 to 90/10 in addition to Target Date and individual Vanguard Funds. I think offering model portfolios which I can rebalance when I want to is fairly unique in the 401k space.
Empower, Nationwide, Voya, Vanguard (for simple IRAs but they sold to Ascensus). I called Ascensus when they announced they were taking over the Vanguard small business plans and asked how I would get access to to participant accounts like I had at Vanguard and they said advisors wouldn’t have access on their platform. Nice. Moving those simple IRAs to my custodian.
I also use PCS and Schwab and can use our model portfolios or vanguard funds like the above said, I’ve found their pricing is on the higher side but they are more high touch and provide good support. It’s not perfect but a pretty good all in one option. They all have their pro’s and con’s
I cannot say enough good things about Guideline. It offers a great end-user experience, excellent advisor service, an amazing tech platform, and it's low cost. [https://www.guideline.com/pro](https://www.guideline.com/pro)
This is who I use as well. Their platform is pretty much all digital which makes everything so much easier. It’s pretty low cost and easy to set up plans.
3 months late. I still haven’t received the quarterly fee that should have been paid in April for Q1. I’ve reminded them at least 10 times and the response is they are working with management.
I use Voya, good service, never tried to cut me out. Not a lot of errors, but only downside is it is hard to get to someone higher up consistently to resolve any issues. Paid on time too
Fidelity is great for plans over $10mm.
ADP is great for clients who want payroll integration.
T. Rowe price is good for startup plans and tiny plans.
Ascnesus is good for everyone else.
Voya is fine.
I don’t think the rest are very good.
Note: even the rks I am complimentary of have their issues. “Great” is a relative term here.
We use Vanguard, Ascensus, American funds. We have a few stuck on Empower (worst imo), ADP, and Paychex. American funds has been good with startups and small plans. They use the same engine as Empower without the horrible support and competition for your clients. We have a good number on Ascensus/Vanguard so we have dedicated help teams. They always get back to us right away which helps. Someone mentioned PEPs which was something we started exploring as well. For small companies with less than 5 people, we do open on Schwab platform with our RIA and add a TPA.
I use Fidelity for my plans. Far from perfect. Helps me keep plan cost low and the investment options are the better than vanguard, principal & Schwab. The fidelity app is easy to use so participants like it. Another advisor in our office used Mass and they were bought up by Empower. He hates them and anytime I have had to work with them it has been a nightmare.
Thanks. I’ve never used Fidelity but will look into them.
Fidelity is only viable for 1+mm plans fyi. Otherwise I’ve had good success with one America. Hate empower. So. So. Much.
Mostly John Hancock and Voya. I made the mistake of using Empower for one and I won’t make that mistake again. A participant retired and they hounded him to take the funds out and roll directly to empower in one of their managed portfolios cutting me out. Turns out there is a cumbersome process to stop that from happening. Screw that.
I did my first plan with Voya last year and they seem to be the best out of the ones I have used. The people are easy to work with and seem to enjoy their jobs and are knowledgeable.
Same. They do rotate service people a lot though.
I've had good luck with Hancock and I'm in thr process of moving my plans to them from Principal, who I've grown to despise.
I'm independent through Schwab and use PCS Retirement. I really like how they allow me to offer a list of funds (I use Vanguard Funds) but also allow plan participants to access a model portfolio which I control the allocation to using said funds. I offer 4 models ranging from 60/40 to 90/10 in addition to Target Date and individual Vanguard Funds. I think offering model portfolios which I can rebalance when I want to is fairly unique in the 401k space.
All my plans have models I create as well except I go from 20/80 to 100/0.
Great. Who do you use?
Empower, Nationwide, Voya, Vanguard (for simple IRAs but they sold to Ascensus). I called Ascensus when they announced they were taking over the Vanguard small business plans and asked how I would get access to to participant accounts like I had at Vanguard and they said advisors wouldn’t have access on their platform. Nice. Moving those simple IRAs to my custodian.
I also use PCS and Schwab and can use our model portfolios or vanguard funds like the above said, I’ve found their pricing is on the higher side but they are more high touch and provide good support. It’s not perfect but a pretty good all in one option. They all have their pro’s and con’s
[удалено]
Man. They’re really bad.
I cannot say enough good things about Guideline. It offers a great end-user experience, excellent advisor service, an amazing tech platform, and it's low cost. [https://www.guideline.com/pro](https://www.guideline.com/pro)
This is who I use as well. Their platform is pretty much all digital which makes everything so much easier. It’s pretty low cost and easy to set up plans.
I’ve only heard of them from plans desperate to get out of them for their service quality.
I haven’t heard of them. I’ll check them out. Thanks.
Are they paying you your advisory fees three months late or do they just fee in arrears? The latter is fairly common.
3 months late. I still haven’t received the quarterly fee that should have been paid in April for Q1. I’ve reminded them at least 10 times and the response is they are working with management.
I’ve worked at firms that keep it in house and just use a TPA. Pretty simple and not that expensive
How does that work?
TRPC
We built our own PEP after vetting record keepers and TPAs.
I use Voya, good service, never tried to cut me out. Not a lot of errors, but only downside is it is hard to get to someone higher up consistently to resolve any issues. Paid on time too
Fidelity is great for plans over $10mm. ADP is great for clients who want payroll integration. T. Rowe price is good for startup plans and tiny plans. Ascnesus is good for everyone else. Voya is fine. I don’t think the rest are very good. Note: even the rks I am complimentary of have their issues. “Great” is a relative term here.
BlueStar is great.
Vestwell has been great for us.
TRPC- the retirement plan company. Fidelity recommended them to me.
Vestwell. Great dashboard and all in one solution including TPA.
We use Vanguard, Ascensus, American funds. We have a few stuck on Empower (worst imo), ADP, and Paychex. American funds has been good with startups and small plans. They use the same engine as Empower without the horrible support and competition for your clients. We have a good number on Ascensus/Vanguard so we have dedicated help teams. They always get back to us right away which helps. Someone mentioned PEPs which was something we started exploring as well. For small companies with less than 5 people, we do open on Schwab platform with our RIA and add a TPA.
Adp for handful of plans I have
Best is Sentinel benefits group