Skip to main content
MENU
Subscribe
  • Sign Up Free
  • LOGIN
  • Subscribe
  • Topics
    • Alternatives
    • Consultants
    • Courts
    • Defined Contribution
    • ESG
    • ETFs
    • Face to Face
    • Hedge Funds
    • Industry Voices
    • Investing
    • Money Management
    • Partner Content
    • Pension Funds
    • Private Equity
    • Real Estate
    • Regulation
    • SECURE 2.0
    • Special Reports
    • Washington
    • White Papers
  • Rankings & Awards
    • 1,000 Largest Retirement Plans
    • Top-Performing Managers
    • Largest Money Managers
    • DC Money Managers
    • DC Record Keepers
    • Largest Hedge Fund Managers
    • World's Largest Retirement Funds
    • Best Places to Work in Money Management
    • Excellence & Innovation Awards
    • WPS Innovation Awards
    • Eddy Awards
  • ETFs
    • Latest ETF News
    • Fund Screener
    • Education Center
    • Equities
    • Fixed Income
    • Commodities
    • Actively Managed
    • Alternatives
    • ESG Rated
  • ESG
    • Latest ESG News
    • The Institutional Investor’s Guide to ESG Investing
    • ESG Sustainability - Gaining Momentum
    • ESG Investing | Industry Brief
    • Innovation in ESG Investing
    • 2023 ESG Investing Conference
    • ESG Rated ETFs
  • Defined Contribution
    • Latest DC News
    • The Plan Sponsor's Guide to Retirement Income
    • DC Money Manager Rankings
    • DC Record Keeper Rankings
    • Innovations in DC
    • Trends in DC: Focus on Retirement Income
    • 2023 Defined Contribution East Conference
  • Searches & Hires
    • Latest Searches & Hires News
    • Searches & Hires Database
    • RFPs
  • Research Center
    • The P&I Research Center
    • Earnings Tracker
    • Endowment Returns Tracker
    • Corporate Pension Contribution Tracker
    • Pension Fund Returns Tracker
    • Pension Risk Transfer Database
  • Careers
  • Events
    • View All Conferences
    • View All Webinars
    • 2023 Canadian Pension Risk Strategies
    • 2023 Retirement Income
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. DEFINED CONTRIBUTION
August 18, 2016 01:00 AM

Fidelity: DC plan executives looking to consultants more for fiduciary help

Meaghan Offerman
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print

    Plan executives' top reason for hiring a consultant for their defined contribution plan is concern over their fiduciary duties, said a Fidelity Investments and e-Rewards survey released Wednesday.

    Although roughly 67% of plan sponsors surveyed said they understand their fiduciary responsibilities, 38% said they are concerned about their fiduciary duties, up from 24% last year.

    Additionally, 69% said a consultant's willingness to take on fiduciary duties was important.

    Although the majority of survey respondents (72%) said they were satisfied with their consultants, up from 70% last year, a record 23% of respondents said they are actively seeking new consultants, up from 17% in 2015.

    About half of respondents (49%) said the need for a more knowledgeable consultant who can assist in a variety areas was their top reason for changing consultants. Areas where more knowledge is desired is assistance with fiduciary duties, minimizing costs, improving plan performance, monitoring investment options and providing regulatory updates.

    The survey also asked plan executives about plan design and investment changes over the past two years, with 87% responding that they have made investment menu changes over the period and 86% responding that they have made plan design changes. Replacing an underperforming fund was the most popular investment change. Implementing auto enrollment was the most popular plan design change.

    Still, a record 88% of plan executives reported having participants who delay retirement due to lack of savings, the survey found, up from 86% last year.

    “Advisers who specialize in the retirement plan market are delivering increasingly greater value, offering services that allow them to operate as a fiduciary, as well as building scalable ways to manage investment menus and serve their plan sponsor clients,” said Jordan Burgess, head of specialist field sales, defined contribution investment only at Fidelity Institutional Asset Management, in a news release. “While plan sponsors are more satisfied than ever, they are also starting to expect more from their advisers, with many of them intensifying their search for even more knowledgeable advisors.”

    Mr. Burgess acknowledged that the Labor Department's new fiduciary rule gives “specialist plan advisers the opportunity to raise the game.”

    “If they are successful at demonstrating their knowledge, these plan advisers could potentially expand their share of the market and become even more competitive,” Mr. Burgess said.

    Independent market research firm e-Rewards, on behalf of Fidelity, surveyed 976 defined contribution plan executives in February, some of which are Fidelity clients.

    Related Articles
    Supreme Court declines to hear fiduciary breach case on GM stock drop
    Good news for DC plan sponsors, but small step forward in context of history
    Glendale, Ariz., launches search for 457 plan consultant
    Fidelity International taps global head of consultant relations
    Recommended for You
    ONLINE_190329901_AR_0_IMCLDIMVZKBQ.jpg
    Pennsylvania's auto-IRA bill faces uncertain fate in state Senate
    Scott_Phil_i.jpg
    Vermont to offer a state-run retirement savings program
    Shah_Jay_head-main_i.jpg
    Edelman Financial Engines names next CEO
    Quest for Quality Amid Market Turmoil
    Sponsored Content: Quest for Quality Amid Market Turmoil

    Reader Poll

    May 1, 2023
     
    SEE MORE POLLS >
    Sponsored
    White Papers
    Middle market credit: We’re gonna need a bigger boat
    Alternative Credit: Differences and Opportunities in CLOs and Credit Risk Shari…
    Fixed Income is Attractive, but Beware of "Fake" Yield
    Counting on a Crisis: A Catalyst for Investment Innovation?
    A Strategic Allocator's Guide to Productivity and Profits
    Research for Institutional Money Management
    View More
    Sponsored Content
    Partner Content
    The Industrialization of ESG Investment
    For institutional investors, ETFs can make meeting liquidity needs easier
    Gold: the most effective commodity investment
    2021 Investment Outlook | Investing Beyond the Pandemic: A Reset for Portfolios
    Ten ways retirement plan professionals add value to plan sponsors
    Gold: an efficient hedge
    View More
    E-MAIL NEWSLETTERS

    Sign up and get the best of News delivered straight to your email inbox, free of charge. Choose your news – we will deliver.

    Subscribe Today
    December 12, 2022 page one

    Get access to the news, research and analysis of events affecting the retirement and institutional money management businesses from a worldwide network of reporters and editors.

    Subscribe
    Connect With Us
    • RSS
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • LinkedIn

    Our Mission

    To consistently deliver news, research and analysis to the executives who manage the flow of funds in the institutional investment market.

    About Us

    Main Office
    685 Third Avenue
    Tenth Floor
    New York, NY 10017-4036

    Chicago Office
    130 E. Randolph St.
    Suite 3200
    Chicago, IL 60601

    Contact Us

    Careers at Crain

    About Pensions & Investments

     

    Advertising
    • Media Kit
    • P&I Content Solutions
    • P&I Careers | Post a Job
    • Reprints & Permissions
    Resources
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • FAQ
    • P&I Research Center
    • Site map
    • Staff Directory
    Legal
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Request
    Pensions & Investments
    Copyright © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • Topics
      • Alternatives
      • Consultants
      • Courts
      • Defined Contribution
      • ESG
      • ETFs
      • Face to Face
      • Hedge Funds
      • Industry Voices
      • Investing
      • Money Management
      • Partner Content
      • Pension Funds
      • Private Equity
      • Real Estate
      • Regulation
      • SECURE 2.0
      • Special Reports
      • Washington
      • White Papers
    • Rankings & Awards
      • 1,000 Largest Retirement Plans
      • Top-Performing Managers
      • Largest Money Managers
      • DC Money Managers
      • DC Record Keepers
      • Largest Hedge Fund Managers
      • World's Largest Retirement Funds
      • Best Places to Work in Money Management
      • Excellence & Innovation Awards
      • WPS Innovation Awards
      • Eddy Awards
    • ETFs
      • Latest ETF News
      • Fund Screener
      • Education Center
      • Equities
      • Fixed Income
      • Commodities
      • Actively Managed
      • Alternatives
      • ESG Rated
    • ESG
      • Latest ESG News
      • The Institutional Investor’s Guide to ESG Investing
      • ESG Sustainability - Gaining Momentum
      • ESG Investing | Industry Brief
      • Innovation in ESG Investing
      • 2023 ESG Investing Conference
      • ESG Rated ETFs
    • Defined Contribution
      • Latest DC News
      • The Plan Sponsor's Guide to Retirement Income
      • DC Money Manager Rankings
      • DC Record Keeper Rankings
      • Innovations in DC
      • Trends in DC: Focus on Retirement Income
      • 2023 Defined Contribution East Conference
    • Searches & Hires
      • Latest Searches & Hires News
      • Searches & Hires Database
      • RFPs
    • Research Center
      • The P&I Research Center
      • Earnings Tracker
      • Endowment Returns Tracker
      • Corporate Pension Contribution Tracker
      • Pension Fund Returns Tracker
      • Pension Risk Transfer Database
    • Careers
    • Events
      • View All Conferences
      • View All Webinars
      • 2023 Canadian Pension Risk Strategies
      • 2023 Retirement Income