401k & Workplace Retirement Plans

Democratizing Private Wealth Management for Entrepreneurs, their Families, and their Employees.

401k & 403b defined contribution plans are a critical part of any corporation’s or institution’s benefits package. It requires a fiduciary level of care. Our firm serves as 3(21) co-fiduciary or 3(38) investment manager fiduciary to qualified retirement plans of all sizes.

In this fiduciary role, we are an advocate for plan sponsors and plan participants. Effectively serving in this role requires the following and is how we’ve built our retirement plan services model:

  1. It’s not a part-time job – qualified retirement plans are complicated and you must be an expert in order to ‘simplify’ the key decision factors so that plan sponsors and plan participants achieve the best outcomes.
  2. Costs are critically important – being ‘average’ in this category is not acceptable. We will ensure ‘best practices’ in terms of 1) keeping costs low, 2) how costs are retrieved, and 3) elevating the transparency of these costs so that they are properly communicated and benchmarked.
  3. Be acutely aware of all conflicts of interest – the appropriate recordkeeping platform and investment line-up should be driven by the plan objectives and competitive pricing – period.
  4. Running the investment committee meetings are not ‘check the box’ – they should be an opportunity to evaluate relevant information in a concise format so that intelligent decisions can be made.
  5. Participant Education & Engagement drives the success of the plan.  If we can drive the costs down, provide a strong investment line-up, and a technology platform that is easy to use – then participant engagement can be tackled with conviction. We don’t outsource ‘education’ – it’s too important.

Irongate Capital Advisors helps plan sponsors examine the following critical questions:

  • Are our plan costs reasonable?
  • Are all of the resources available from our service providers being utilized?
  • Is our Investment Advisor a 3(21) Co-Fiduciary?  3(38) Investment Manager?  Or are we assisted by a registered rep?
  • Do we have a written and accurate investment policy statement (IPS)?
  • Does our IPS contain sufficient detail to meet fiduciary prudence?
  • How are the plan investment options performing relative to appropriate indexes, peer groups, and the IPS?
  • Are reviews conducted on a regular basis to determine whether appropriate policies and procedures are in place to address all fiduciary obligations?
  • Is the plan operating in the best interest of our participants and their beneficiaries?