If you are the Employer, as a plan sponsor and fiduciary to your company’s retirement plan, you have certain responsibilities to ensure optimal investments, reasonable fees, and informed participants. Working with a Plan Advisor allows you to navigate this complicated field with confidence to create a best practices retirement plan that helps protect you from liability and loss while promoting positive participant outcomes.

Plan fiduciaries must act as prudent experts under ERISA (Employment Retirement Income Security Act of 1974), and are therefore held to a high standard of care with respect to plan-related decisions regarding investments, service providers, plan administration, and general ERISA compliance issues. Most prudent plan sponsors hire a plan consultant (advisor) to assist them in adhering to ERISA’s rigorous standards, and to meet their objective of offering a best practices 401(k) or 403(b) plan to their employees.

Here is a list of attributes that you should expect of your Plan Advisor:

Experience	Demonstrates a clear understanding of Company Retirement Plans. Can effectively communicate the complex nature of retirement plans to you.
ERISA §404(a) and §404(c) Expertise	Properly Guides you through ERISA’s requirements.
Plan Design Comprehension	Broad knowledge of Plan Design, and the advantages/disadvantages of each type of Plan, while continuing to meet the goals and objectives of your organization.
Investment Expertise	Ability to evaluate, select and monitor fund performance.
Independence	Ability to evaluate funds and service providers objectively and without conflict of interest, independent of your service provider.
Co-Fiduciary Status	Willingness to acknowledge in writing that they are a co-fiduciary to the plan as it relates to the selection and monitoring of investments.
Enrollment & Education Support	Makes themselves available to meet with your employees to promote understanding of investments and provide investment guidance.
Transparency	Fully and openly discloses all sources of fees received on a direct and/or indirect basis. States fees and services being provided.

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The ERISA rules are very clear… every decision you make as a fiduciary must be in the best interests of plan participants and their beneficiaries, and certain relationships may result in prohibited transactions.

Working with a Plan Advisor is a prudent decision for any organization that adheres to “best-practices” culture.