Firms Partner to Launch 401k Plan Risk Management System
EMERYVILLE, CA, October 14, 2004 -- PlanTools, LLC today announced an agreement with Epoch Consulting Group of Santa Rosa, CA, to provide an investment support service for investment advisor, plan administrator and institutional clients of Epoch. The PlanTools™ Risk Management System will be made available to selected investment advisors and plan administration professionals that serve sponsors of qualified retirement plans, including 401k, profit sharing and, in the future, defined benefit programs.
Epoch is a diversified advisory platform that serves a wide range of corporate, institutional and individual needs, largely through third parties that use Epoch products, services and support in marketing, selling and serving corporate retirement plans.
Rick Tasker, co-founder of Epoch, will continue a long working relationship with PlanTools and its parent firm, The McHenry Group. "We have worked closely with McHenry’s founder, Ward Harris, for a dozen years," said Tasker. At the dawn of daily valuation, Ward was national marketing manager for the retirement services business at Charles Schwab & Co. "Ward was our go-to-guy at Schwab and he was a great source of support in building a successful retirement advisory practice," said Tasker.
"Rick Tasker, his partner Kirk Mulligan, and their support team do a great job for advisors, institutions and plan sponsors. We are very happy to be working with these retirement professionals as a PlanTools™ Partner to serve these markets," said Bill Fleig, PlanTools’ General Manager. "Cultural, business and personal connections are important in this industry. At some point, all you really have is your reputation."
The web-based PlanTools™ platform helps sponsors of retirement plans that provide for employee direction of the investments. The program provides an investment policy statement and ongoing monitoring of funds for performance and notable management issues. Quarterly reporting of objective and subjective performance is provided in electronic form and includes recommendations for remedial action for consideration by the plan sponsor or retirement oversight committee. Fund selection assistance is also provided. Fees will be established by the cooperating professional firm, based upon their service offering.
The PlanTools™ Risk Management System consists of three core elements:
- Investment Policy Statement (IPS) – Written operating document detailing plan investment operations, customized for each plan and its unique situation. This tool details the standards and criteria to be used in monitoring the client plan’s investment selections.
- Fund Focus List – A list of funds available to the plan for consideration and use, analyzed and ranked based upon objective and subjective criteria, including issues related to corporate governance and management.
- Integrated Quarterly Monitor Report (QMR) – System-generated report delivered quarterly, integrating the standards and criteria of the plan with the quarterly performance of the funds used by the plan.
This combined solution helps answer some key questions plan sponsors should ask and answer on a regular basis:
- "What do we know?" – What have our funds done this quarter and over time?
- "How are we doing?" – Did they meet or exceed our minimum requirements?
- "What should we do?" – Should we replace a fund that has not performed over time?
- "When should we take that action?" – How much time do we give the manager before action?
About PlanTools
PlanTools, LLC is an SEC registered investment advisor and service organization which provides technology-based outsourced retirement plan risk management services, including co-fiduciary advisory support. Clients include financial institutions (banks, insurance companies, asset managers and securities brokers), their retirement plan clients and the professionals that serve them.
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