A Laser-Like 401(k) Focus
“We’re different in that our core belief is to do one thing extremely well.”
That one thing is 401(k), something Doug Prince, CEO of ProCourse Fiduciary Advisors, has done for over 30 years. He’s not interested in cross-selling and managing individual assets; it’s all about the retirement plan and—together with a health benefits partner—getting clients “the most bang for the buck” from total rewards.
Started in 2012 by Prince and co-founder Brea Dantin, the family-friendly firm features advisors, analysts, operations, and compliance, but also a “Chief Kid in Charge” and a flurry of four-legged friends with titles like “Chief Chomp Officer” and “Good Vibes Coordinator.”
“We went from 47% to 97% with good old-fashioned education,” Prince said.
Several firms approached ProCourse in recent years to merge, not surprising given the current M&A environment. ProCourse selected MJ Insurance, one of the larger Midwest healthcare consulting firms, because of their shared vision to address benefits consulting through a total rewards strategy, using data analytics to improve overall workforce outcomes.
One case he’s particularly proud of involved a heavy machinery sales and service organization with approximately 20 locations throughout the Midwest. The company recently instituted an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) in conjunction with a transition of ownership, and it maintains a 401(k) plan and health and welfare benefits.
The company hired ProCourse in 2019 to oversee the 401(k), and plan participation was a concerning 47%. It transitioned its health care consulting to MJ Insurance at roughly the same time. MJ and ProCourse were joined together in the Request for Proposal (RFP) process and hired as a team, a precursor to their eventual merger. ProCourse worked with the client and recordkeeping vendor to consolidate the Health Savings Account (HSA) with the 401(k)-recordkeeping system. The organization wanted to know how the ESOP and 401(k) work together for the participants’ benefit.
MJ and ProCourse met with the client to discuss program changes to their health care and retirement programs, and ProCourse implemented auto-enrollment with the recordkeeper effective for the 2020 plan year.
ProCourse and MJ conducted joint total rewards meetings at each of the locations and ended up meeting with approximately 300 employees. They focused on the employees’ total rewards dollars and how they should allocate among various health and retirement programs. Prince and his team also set aside time for one-on-one meetings.
Employee webinars in 2020 explained how 401(k)s, ESOPs, and HSAs work as both retirement planning and (in the case of the HSA) emergency savings vehicles. The educational webinars also focused on asset diversification within the 401(k) plan and eventually covered logging into their retirement plan portal and updating their personal and beneficiary information.
The outcome
As of June 30, 2022, the 401(k) plan had a 97% participation rate, and 96% percent of employees had asset allocations within their appropriate age range. Additionally, approximately 86% of employees updated their personal information on the recordkeeping platform.
“It’s important to remember that we introduced auto-enrollment for the plan, but that was only for new hires after January 1, 2020,” Prince concluded. “So, we went from 47% to 97% with good old-fashioned education.”
Doug Prince, AIFA, is an advisor and CEO of Carmel, Ind.-based ProCourse Fiduciary Advisors.
With more than 20 years serving financial markets, John Sullivan is the former editor-in-chief of Investment Advisor magazine and retirement editor of ThinkAdvisor.com. Sullivan is also the former editor of Boomer Market Advisor and Bank Advisor magazines, and has a background in the insurance and investment industries in addition to his journalism roots.