Two more pressing worries pushed fee compression—2018's 2nd place concern—down to 3rd place, with 23 percent calling it "very important." (Photo: Shutterstock)
Retirement plan advisors have some weighty concerns on their minds, according to a poll of attendees at the 2019 NAPA 401(k) Summit, but chief among them is how to keep existing clients. Thirty-five percent of respondents said that was "very important"—even more this year than felt that way last year.
That's among the results of the NAPA Summit Insider, which also found that their second-place concern was cybersecurity, also cited by 35 percent.
Those two worries pushed fee compression—2018's second-place concern—down to third place, with 23 percent calling it "very important."
Advisors are also "cautiously optimistic" about multiple employer plans, with 36 percent saying they were "looking to sell if open MEPs officially passes."
Almost as many—34 percent—said they wanted to "learn more about asset pooling" to scale their practice.
A tad over a third of respondents—35 percent—said they've sold more than half of their new business through a partnership with a third-party administrator, and 8 percent said they rely on TPA relationships for 100 percent of their new business.
Target-date funds are recommended in a mix of "to" and "through" strategies, depending on the plan or customer, by 63 percent of respondents, while 21 percent advocate "through"-focused funds and 12 percent go the "to" route.
And while 37 percent of advisors favoring passive investment strategies over active management say they're driven by efforts to cut plan costs, only 22 percent say they go the passive route in response to sponsor demand.
And advisors want additional information about a range of topics, including fiduciary education (54 percent), financial wellness (49 percent) and health savings accounts (47 percent).
More than half of respondents had at least 15 years of experience, and half of that group actually topped 20 years. In addition, 30 percent focused on plans with less than $5 million in assets, but there were also respondents with plans topping $1 billon in assets.
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Marlene Satter
Marlene Y. Satter has worked in and written about the financial industry for decades.
