Products July 29, 2015

Deloitte and Penbridge Expand Pension Services Partnership

The firms announced an “expanded array of defined benefit plan services” after nearly a year and a half of partnership on risk transfer services.
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Deloitte Consulting and Penbridge Advisors are expanding a strategic partnership established in 2014 to bring new defined benefit (DB) plan support services to market.

“Our ongoing alliance with Penbridge Advisors is a natural fit for Deloitte,” says Jason Flynn, principal at Deloitte Consulting LLP and national leader of the Deloitte Human Capital Rewards practice. He suggests Penbridge’s independence and knowledge of DB plan operations are “very compatible with Deloitte’s own capabilities and approach,” which center more on comprehensive advisory and pension risk transfer (PRT) implementation services.

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According to the firms, the expanded Penbridge and Deloitte alliance will focus on helping DB plan sponsors “make balanced, well-informed decisions, whether it involves plan maintenance or pension risk transfer.”

Penbridge Advisors’ services under the expanded partnership will include DB expense analysis and benchmarking; independent vendor searches and selection support; customized PRT assessments; buy-out price monitoring; executive education; comprehensive implementation support; and a capital efficient buy-out solution.

Deloitte brings to the partnership expertise in DB actuarial services and supports vendor searches across many of the DB service provider categories. Its PRT services include preparation and execution of lump sum programs and annuity buy-outs, including financial and tax education services and annuity placement services.

Robert Goldbloom, co-founder and principal of Penbridge Advisors, says the firms are “taking the next step in the partnership,” bringing more of Penbridge’s specialized information and advisory services together with Deloitte’s comprehensive advisory and risk transfer implementation capabilities.

Products July 29, 2015

Employee Fiduciary Launches Financial Adviser Directory

An online directory connects plan sponsors to advisers nationwide. 
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Plan sponsors looking for an adviser to support their retirement plan can find out general contact information, website, number of years in business and credentials of all financial adviser partners who submitted their business listing to Employee Fiduciary and have at least one plan with the firm. A search can be done by ZIP code to locate financial advisers in a specific area.

The directory provides information on a range of plan details: services offered (investment menu selection, ERISA 3(38) or 3(21) services, investment policy statement, quarterly investment monitoring, among others) and plan sizes served (for example, $1M – $5M, $5M – $20M, $20M+).

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Types of investments offered can be described by the adviser in a fair amount of detail. One adviser listed actively managed mutual funds, passively managed (index) mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), model portfolios, target-date funds (TDFs), and described “other” as individually managed defined benefit (DB) plans and IRA accounts.

The adviser’s compensation structures—fee-only, asset-based or fee-only (hourly), to name a few—are also detailed.

According to Eric Droblyen, president and chief operating officer of Employee Fiduciary, plan sponsors contact the firm daily looking for 401(k) services. “Many also want a professional financial adviser,” he says, “but don’t know where to look for one. Now, sponsors can search the directory to find financial advisers in their area that partner with Employee Fiduciary.”

Plan sponsors may access the directory on Employee Fiduciary’s website.

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