Vestwell is out with a compelling survey (two actually) of 401k advisors and plan sponsors.
The resulting report, aptly titled “2018 Retirement Trends Report,” takes a close look at each constituency individually, as well as disparities and synergies between the two.
Recommendations are then made to bridge the gaps.
The top finding?
Fully 57 percent of advisors—when asked about perceptions of the 401k market—see growing their client base as their biggest priority for the remainder of 2018.
Displacing incumbents and managing scale also top the list of hurdles, “all making advisors’ 2018 goals more difficult,” according to New York-based digital retirement platform provider.
The report also examined how advisors perceive plan sponsors.
“Over 35 percent of advisors find that the biggest mistake plan sponsors make is not understanding what they’re paying for when it comes to their retirement plans,” Vestwell notes. “Over 97 percent of advisors find it important to reduce their clients’ administrative burden.”
And Just under 97 percent of advisors find minimizing clients’ fiduciary risk important, with 96 percent stating saving them money on plans is important.
As for how plan sponsors perceive themselves, 100 percent of plan sponsors found minimizing their administrative burden important, especially when selecting their own retirement plans,
Additionally, “98 percent of plan sponsors found being competitively priced, offering flexible investment options, minimizing their tax benefits, and minimizing their fiduciary risk important as well.”
Lastly, 37 percent of plan sponsors “find filings, taxes, and compliance activities their biggest pain point when administering a retirement plan.”
Vestwell conducted the survey in August 2018 to gauge advisors’ perception of market trends and personal interests in the retirement planning industry.
Their business focus (retirement or otherwise) was broken down as follows:
- Retirement (48 percent)
- Private wealth management (41 percent)
- Benefits (4 percent)
- Other (7 percent)
Vestwell conducted a second survey for plan sponsors to better understand their growing challenges, needs, expectations from advisors, and views on the overall retirement planning industry.
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.
