Our Difference
The following are the minimum standards the sponsor of a retirement plan should require in selecting the plan’s investment advisor. These standards provide a sponsor with a framework for detecting the difference between the great majority of advisors that merely sell products and actual experts that specialize in providing truly valuable services to retirement plans.
Independence from Outside Third Parties
The investment advisor to a retirement plan should be free from any real (or perceived) conflicts of interest. The advisor should have no allegiance to any entity except its client which is the plan sponsor and, by implication, the plan’s participants (and their beneficiaries).
PIA is an independent advisory firm and does not accept any compensation from third parties, thereby avoiding conflicts of interest and assuring its complete independence.
Fiduciary Protection
The sponsor of a retirement plan is always a fiduciary. A sponsor can get rid of significant fiduciary responsibilities and liabilities for the selection, monitoring and replacement of plan investment options by transferring them to an investment advisor that will accept sole responsibility and liability for such duties via written contract in accordance with ERISA sections 3(38) and 405(d)(1).
PIA operates as an ERISA section 3(38) investment manager and a 405(d)(1) independent fiduciary and, as such, accepts the transfer of fiduciary responsibilities and liabilities from its plan sponsor clients.
Prudent Investments
The advisor to a plan should provide a legally sound, academically oriented and cost efficient prudent investment process that’s designed to protect plan participants (and their beneficiaries) – as well as plan sponsors.
PIA has a prudent investment process that is documented in its proprietary Investment Policy Statement.
Great Service
The advisor to a plan should provide great service. But that’s not enough. Provision of those services should be enforced by an investment advisory agreement.
PIA enters into a legally binding investment advisory agreement with each client that acknowledges the firm's delegated responsibilities in a clear and concise way. PIA’s performance of these duties is reviewed on an annual basis with its plan sponsor clients.
Proper Advice
The plan sponsor is responsible for all advice associated with its retirement plan. A plan investment advisor should provide advice only at the plan level (i.e., ERISA section 3(38)), not at the participant level, in order to help protect the plan sponsor from liability. Any advice given at the participant level should only be done through the provisions of the Pension Protection Act or under a level fee arrangement.
PIA is experienced thoroughly in the correct way to provide advice to a retirement plan. The firm has procedures in place to eliminate any unnecessary risks a plan sponsor might be exposed to through imprudent advice.
Excellent Education
The advisor to a plan should provide a customized investment education program to plan participants in accordance with Interpretive Bulletin 96-1; Participant Investment Education; Final Rule, issued by the Department of Labor.
PIA measures the success of its education program by focusing on the investment behavior of plan participants. The firm educates a plan sponsor’s administrative staff to limit any potential problems raised by the difference between “education” and “advice” as described in Interpretive Bulletin 96-1.
Reliable Expertise
The investment advisor to a plan should have “book smarts.” The education, training and credentials of the advisor should have earned it respect in the retirement plan community. An advisor should be able to articulate and demonstrate how its expertise is a benefit to a plan sponsor and each plan participant (and their beneficiaries).
PIA has a team of highly educated experts that continues to learn and broaden its expertise through continuing education, and attendance and participation at various retirement plan conferences and events around the country.
Broad Experience
The advisor to a retirement plan should have consulted with many businesses and organizations over the course of many years in the area of qualified retirement plans. Too often, investment advisors are distracted by the allure of selling additional products and services to plan participants. These activities are a nuisance at best and, at worst, may create conflicts of interest for the plan sponsor and investment advisor.
PIA employs a team of highly experienced retirement plan professionals that have decades of combined practical experience working with clients on a daily basis. The average consultant at the firm has fifteen years of experience. PIA focuses on providing real solutions based on the best interests of plan participants (and their beneficiaries), as well as those of the plan sponsor.