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Fiducia Group
- 401(k) Fiduciary Consulting
- Provider Benchmarking
- Provider Fee Negotiation
- 401(k) Fiduciary Audits
- Plan Design Reviews
- Investment Selection & Monitoring
- Investment Committee Oversight
- Participant Education & Advice
- Eight Penn Center West
- Suite 101
- Pittsburgh, PA 15276
- 877-707-9990 (toll free)
- Email Us
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The Fiducia Group Advantage
Fiducia Group, LLC is a retirement consulting firm that focuses exclusively on employer-sponsored retirement plans. We are experts in the delivery of prudent plan governance procedures to assist fiduciaries in meeting their obligations. The guidance we provide to plan participants is understandable and works.
Litigation and arbitration cases involving breaches of retirement plan fiduciary practices are at an all time high. The additional scrutiny on fiduciaries coupled with retirement fiduciary standards under ERISA being characterized as the “highest known to law,” places unique responsibilities on plan sponsors. Fiducia Group is strategically positioned to ease this burden and make a tangible impact on both plan fiduciaries and plan participants. The following key deliverables and differentials are what make our service model highly unique among our peers:
- Specialization in the employer-sponsored retirement plan marketplace.
- First hand knowledge of service provider packaging, pricing and fee arrangements for RFP, benchmarking and fee reasonableness assessments.
- We serve in a fiduciary capacity along with our plan sponsor clients and share in the exposure of liability under ERISA.
- Independent firm with access to all provider platforms resulting in an unbiased review of available options and investments.
- Our fiduciary consultants are Accredited Investment Fiduciary Analyst® designees that are trained to support conformity with international fiduciary standards.
- Prudent and proven plan governance procedures designed to mitigate exposure to fiduciary liability.
- Consistent, easy-to-understand education and investment guidance which resonates with plan participants.
Our Services
Institutional Quality Investment Screening
While past performance of investments is not indicative of future results, success over time is important to retirement investors. Our job is to select mutual funds with attributes that we think will make past success more likely to be continued into the future. We review an in-depth manager evaluation questionnaire for funds that pass our screening process.
- The Fiducia Group’s research follows a strict quantitative and qualitative process to evaluate the universe of mutual funds. Mutual fund analysis emphasizes consistency, style-purity and predictability.
- The Fiducia Group monitors the investments on a quarterly basis to make sure they continue to be appropriate representatives of their asset class and continue to meet the criteria set forth in the Investment Policy Statement.
- A quarterly monitoring report is provided which documents the monitoring in accordance with your IPS and assists the Retirement Committee with its responsibilities.
This provides invaluable insights into the structure of the mutual fund company’s organization, details about investment personnel and the investment and risk management processes utilized by the team.
Fiduciary Consulting
The Latin phrase “Fide et Fiducia” translates to “by faith and confidence”. Certainly the name of our company provides a hint as to how seriously we approach our fiduciary obligations to our clients. Our suite of fiduciary services includes:
- Annual fiduciary review of your other service providers.
- Plan design consultation.
- Training of retirement committee members as to their duties and obligations.
- Establishment of retirement committee by-laws and meeting minute templates.
- Development, review and maintenance of your Investment Policy Statement.
- Easy to understand fund analytics and monitoring reports which tie directly to the thresholds established in the Investment Policy Statement.
- Preparation of retirement committee minutes for prudent documentation.
- Annual Self-Assessment of Fiduciary Excellence (SAFE®) to assist in analyzing how well all of the fiduciaries are meeting defined global fiduciary standards.
- 404 (c), QDIA, auto-enrollment / deferral escalators and other safe harbor review and maintenance.
- Preparation of participant communications for fund changes, safe harbor notices and fee disclosures.
- Development and maintenance of a participant Education Policy Statement.
- Design and maintenance of corporate and plan governance processes for the selection and monitoring of your fiduciaries.
Provider Benchmarking
The selection of a 401(k) service provider is a critical decision for every plan sponsor and retirement committee. Fiduciaries and retirement committees need to maintain the best interests of the participants in making these decisions. Plan sponsors have their own set of priorities that need addressed.
The selection of the service provider impacts everyone involved with your 401(k) plan:
- Plan Sponsors – Your recordkeeper needs to carry the day as it relates to mitigating the day-to-day burden of company staff. Poor service standards and a lack of user-friendly technology can significantly impact your HR / Payroll personnel and the perception of the program.
- Participants – Fee reasonableness and access to quality investment choices for your investment advisor to choose from are directly determined by your service provider selection. Poor investment performance or high fees will severely impede a participant’s retirement accumulation and ability to retire on their terms.
- Fiduciaries – Your service provider facilitates many elements of safe harbor protection for retirement committee members and decision makers who are the fiduciaries of the plan. If not properly analyzed, the wrong provider can put fiduciaries in harms way.
Given the high impact your service provider has on you and your participants, the engagement of a fiduciary consultant to assist you with evaluating your retirement program goals and drive your decision is a prudent choice. A fiduciary consultant can objectively balance the needs of each distinct group. Outsourcing a time consuming and cumbersome process is also an added benefit.
Fiducia Group shoulders the burden of searching for a new provider by managing the process from the initial proposal requests to the final analysis and recommendation. We finish what we start by providing conversion management assistance. Depending on your goals, objectives, demographics and philosophy, we will match you with the provider who delivers the highest possible quality products and services for the plan at the most competitive total plan cost. We will deliver our recommendations with independence and without bias using a process that documents the decision and protects you as a fiduciary.
Participant Education & Advocacy
It is no secret that the vast majority of plan participants are not on track to meet their retirement goals. We believe it is our obligation, in partnership with the plan sponsor, to take the necessary steps to help participants get on track and stay there. We are confident our program will establish reasonable goals, increase savings rates and improve participant investment practices.
One of our primary differentiators in the marketplace is our capacity to communicate with plan participants in an easy-to-understand fashion that resonates on a personal level by providing the following services:
- Fiduciary Advisor participant advice safe-harbor implementation.
- Quarterly worksite visits for education and guidance.
- Group enrollment meetings or welcome calls with newly eligible employees to review enrollment process, paperwork and plan highlights.
- Education workshops or 1-on-1 meetings with existing plan participants.
- Rollover service for terminating plan participants to assist them in taking action, while reducing plan level recordkeeping costs.
Producer Support
Many of our client relationships come to us by referral from investment or insurance professionals who do not have the specialized skills or tools to offer “best of breed” 401(k) support to their valued clients. By partnering with Fiducia Group, our partners greatly enhance their qualified retirement plan capabilities without having to hire specialized employees or build the service infrastructure themselves.
Our consultants have extensive experience in the retirement services industry and have held executive management positions with multiple retirement service providers. Our knowledge of the marketplace, packaging nuances and the pricing of products will provide our partners with a competitive advantage when seeking new clients or in the retention of current clients.
Our entire service suite is available to our partners for one-time opportunities or an ongoing strategic partnership. In some situations, we will offer our services on a “private label” basis, working under the brand of your firm. Fiducia Group will help you close more business and service existing clients professionally.
