Products March 20, 2017

Paychex Expands Fiduciary Investment Solutions

In conjunction with MidAtlantic Trust Co., Paychex is also now providing a solution to levelize the commissions paid to financial advisers from fund companies.

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Paychex, Inc. has expanded its portfolio of partners and solutions that provide investment and administrative fiduciary protection to 401(k) plan sponsors.

The new offerings include Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) 3(21) investment guidance services through Wilshire Associates and ERISA 3(38) investment management services through Mesirow Financial. These new fiduciary services join Paychex’s current 3(38) offerings from GuidedChoice and LPL Financial.

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“With these services, we’re making it easier for advisers and plan sponsors to offer investment options in their 401(k) plans that allow them to keep up with the demands of the ever-changing regulatory environment,” says Tom Hammond, vice president of corporate strategy and product management at Paychex. “Our clients will be able to choose from a suite of fiduciary solutions to help them with the complicated investment selection process by outsourcing to professional firms.”

The Wilshire 3(21) adviser services provide a select list of investments that have been screened using Wilshire’s tested methodology, as well as plan-specific quarterly reports to help track and monitor investments. An option to auto-execute recommended fund changes is also available.

Mesirow Index Elite is an ERISA 3(38) investment fund lineup that includes index and target-date funds. The funds in this product are selected and monitored by Mesirow Financial’s industry experts.

“Each fiduciary firm has its own standards for selecting investments, but in general these processes are designed to ensure that the investments made available to participants are continuously monitored,” says Hammond. “This monitoring will improve participants’ experience, while assisting the employer in fulfilling its fiduciary obligations to the plan.” 

In conjunction with MidAtlantic Trust Co., Paychex is also now providing a solution to levelize the commissions paid to financial advisers from fund companies. The program leverages Paychex’s Return of Concessions feature where all commission and revenue share are returned to participants, and all fees are levelized across all participants in the plan.

To learn more about fiduciary investment solutions available through Paychex, visit www.paychex.com/retirement/plan-management.aspx.

Products March 20, 2017

Pentegra Offers Fiduciary Education to Plan Sponsors and Advisers

The report is designed to help readers understand fiduciary responsibilities and corresponding liabilities, and offers recommendations and guidance for managing these duties.
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Pentegra has introduced the Pentegra Fiduciary SmartPath, a report detailing best practices and strategies for business owners, plan sponsors and advisers to use to help navigate the shifting fiduciary landscape.

The report is designed to help understand fiduciary responsibilities and corresponding liabilities, and offers recommendations and guidance for managing these duties.

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Pentegra Fiduciary SmartPath details each fiduciary role in a retirement plan and focuses on helping plan sponsors and advisers clarify the many nuances associated with fulfilling their obligations, addressing some of the most important concerns of plan sponsors today. The report also tackles why outsourcing these responsibilities may be the trend of the future.

Pentegra notes that retirement plan administration and the oversight of plan assets involve complex processes laden with compliance burdens. For many plan sponsors, the level of self-education and the commitment of time and energy required to effectively fulfill their fiduciary duties is an unwelcome concern that too often distracts from the more critical responsibility of running a business.

“Today, business owners, plan sponsors and advisers are extremely concerned with the changing regulatory landscape and overall plan administrative burdens. There is a strong desire to reduce workloads, fiduciary liability and risk. They want retirement plans to deliver successful outcomes for the sponsor as well as the participant. Our new tool, the Fiduciary SmartPath, is an invaluable resource at a very important time in the industry,” says Rich Rausser, senior vice president at Pentegra,

As part of the launch of the Fiduciary SmartPath, Pentegra will present a free PENTalk webinar on this topic Tuesday, March 21, 2017, at 11:00 am EST. Click here to register. To view the Fiduciary SmartPath click here.

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