Empower Retirement has been voted to have the best value for the money by 401(k) plan sponsors.

That's according to Market Strategies International, which reported the news in its annual Cogent Reports Retirement Planscape. The number of plan sponsors giving the top vote to Empower Retirement was 43 percent, up from 27 percent a year ago.

The report also found plan administration fees to be the most common reason that sponsors switch their recordkeepers. Those fees, it said, are an important driver of satisfaction and loyalty when client expectations are fulfilled.

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"Plan sponsors are more focused on fees than ever before," Julia Johnston-Ketterer, senior director at Market Strategies and coauthor of the report, said in a statement. She added, "In fact, for the first time the aspect of reducing plan costs outranks all other priorities upon which plan sponsors are directing their attention."

Providing good value for the money was this year's leading enhancer to brand consideration, the report found, adding that this reinforces the point that plan sponsors seek value from a provider beyond factors that hit their companies' bottom lines or their participants' quarterly statements.

"The aspect of value is not just about being the cheapest," Linda York, senior vice president of the financial services division at Market Strategies, said in a statement. York continued, "It's more about justifying the fees that you charge and demonstrating the benefits of the service you provide in a way that's meaningful to your target audience."

The report also examined brand perceptions overall as well as by plan size segment (micro, <$5M; small, $5M–<$20M; mid, $20M–<$100M; large, $100M–<$500M; and mega, $500M+). In noting pertinent differences among providers, it found that Empower has "substantially improved its brand recognition in the smaller end of the market" with efforts to serve defined contribution plans of all types and sizes. Fidelity Investments and Vanguard also did well at the large-plan end of the market.

The plans finishing in the top 10 for providing good value for the money, in order, were

  • Empower Retirement

  • Ascensus

  • Fidelity Investments

  • Betterment

  • OneAmerica

  • Vanguard

  • Paychex

  • American Funds

  • ADP Retirement Services

  • Wells Fargo

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