Certified advisors can assist plansponsors in selecting reasonable and cost-effective investmentoptions and helping them document the process to satisfytheir fiduciary obligations. (Photo: Shutterstock)

With the new year just around the corner, many benefit planexecutives will soon be updating and organizing their retirementplan files and looking for better ways to help employees save forthe future. Plan sponsors at large companies also will be spendingadditional time reviewing governance documents, including policiesand procedures manuals, investment committee meeting minutes andquarterly reports in preparation for the annual audit as requiredby the Department of Labor.

Ensuring plan compliance and fiduciary plan governance is noeasy feat given the increasingly complex and changing rules andregulations governing retirement plans. One way sponsors can stayahead of the game is to work with advisors whose companies havepassed certification from third parties, such as the Centre forFiduciary Excellence (CEFEX).

These organizations regularly update their assessment protocolsand refine their certification criteria to ensure retirement planadvisors have the expertise, capabilities, policies and proceduresin place to help plan sponsors meet their fiduciaryobligations.

Here are three reasons why working with a certified retirementplan advisor can make benefit sponsors' lives easier:

1. Ensures sponsors are following all retirement plandocuments.

Managing your plan's governance can be time consuming. The IRSand the DOL both have oversight of company retirement plans. Ingeneral, the IRS oversees the qualified status of the plans, whilethe DOL is responsible for fiduciary standards and reportingrequirements. Here is a small sample of the list of documents thathave to be in your audit file and ready for inspection:

• Corporate charter
• IRS approval letter
• Summary plan documents and any amendments
• Custodial or trust documents and any amendments
• Current fidelity bond policy
• Investment policy statements
• Qualified Default Investment Alternative (QDIA) Notice
• Investment committee meeting minutes

Advisors who have passed certification exams have verifiedprocesses that can make your job much easier. They can alsoidentify potential problems, material weaknesses in internalcontrols or conflicts of interest so the annual audit will gosmoothly for plan sponsors.

2. Confirms that plan investments are diversified.

One of the primary responsibilities of retirement planfiduciaries is to provide employees an opportunity to participatein plans so they can build their wealth. Certified advisors haveproven methodologies in place to help plan sponsors offerparticipants a range of options to growth their money inrisk-appropriate investments.

Just as important, certified advisors can help plan sponsorsselect investment managers who have a proven track record ofsuccess.

3. Ensures that plan expenses are reasonable.

Lawsuits over retirement plan fees continue to be a majorconcern for plan sponsors. While lawsuits against largecorporations tend to make the headlines, more small business ownersare finding themselves the targets of litigation.

Certified advisors can assist plan sponsors in selectingreasonable and  cost-effective investment options – andhelping them document the process to satisfy their fiduciaryobligations to ensure the fees being paid are reasonable for theinvestment services provided.

Confidence in compliance

Benefits professionals are under constant pressure to meetfederal regulations. By working with a certified retirement planadvisor, sponsors can be confident their plans are in complianceand that they are helping improve the financial well-being of theiremployees.

Brad Knowles is managing director for HeritageRetirement Plan Advisors, a Registered Investment Advisor withthe SEC that specializes in providing fiduciary and investmentadvisory services to employer sponsored qualified and non-qualifiedretirement plans. Brad began his financial services career in 2001and founded his own retirement plan advisory firm, RBK Capital, in2014. Brad joined Heritage in 2016 and is one of around 50 advisorsnationally who have earned the Certified Behavioral FinanceAnalysts (CBFA) designation. Brad earned his Master of BusinessAdministration and Bachelor of Science degrees from the Universityof Oklahoma.