Request For Proposal Template For Retirement Plan Advisor Search Freely Available

EAST GRANBY, Conn., July 9, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The Retirement Advisor Council made public and freely available a template Request for Proposal (RFP) questionnaire for use by 401(k) and 403(b) plan sponsors looking to select an Advisor.   The document covers all the elements of service typically available from Professional Retirement Plan Advisors, including investment services, participant services, provider services, fiduciary support, and compliance support. This customizable document includes 65 questions on five pages.  You can obtain the template RFP questionnaire in Microsoft Word document form on the Web site of the Council at www.retirementadvisor.us. The template is provided for use without copyright restrictions.  

To supplement the template RFP questionnaire, the Council developed an Advisor search protocol for use by plan sponsors also posted on the Web site of the Council.  The protocol outlines a suggested process for plan sponsors seeking to select a professional retirement plan advisor, or to perform due diligence on a current advisor.     

"The advisor RFP questionnaire will assist plan sponsors in complying with recent legislative regulations centered on fee / service benchmarking; it also provides a turnkey solution saving both time and resources for the plan sponsor relative to production of the questionnaire.  The fact that the questionnaire stems from the experience and business models of a highly successful and nationally recognized group of advisors enables a sponsor to avoid the "guess work" in regards to what should be asked or measured in the benchmarking of an investment/fiduciary advisor." says Council member Gregg Andonian, AIF®, Principal, Baystate Fiduciary Advisors, Inc.

The Retirement Advisor Council developed the protocol and the accompanying advisor search RFP template over a twelve-month period between July 2011 and July 2012 with input and feedback from the Plan Sponsor Council of America and Asset International, Inc., publisher of PlanSponsor Magazine and PlanAdviser Magazine.  The document is the result of months of hard work by a dedicated Cabinet of advisors, advisory firms, service providers, and investment managers collaborating to enhance plan and participant outcomes.  The Cabinet was headed by Steve Davis, Regional Vice President at The Hartford.  The Council intends to periodically review the protocol and the advisor search RFP template to keep both documents current. 

About the Retirement Advisor Council

The Council advocates for successful qualified plan and participant retirement outcomes through the collaborative efforts of experienced, qualified retirement plan advisors, investment firms and asset managers, and defined contribution plan service providers. The Council accomplishes this mission by its focus on:

• Identifying duties, responsibilities, and attributes of the Professional Retirement Plan Advisor.
• Sharing our professional standards with plan sponsors who are responsible for the success of their plans.
• Providing collective thought capital to decision makers, product providers, legislators and the public.
• Giving voice to the retirement plan advisor community.
• Tools to evaluate advisors, ensuring the quality of services needed for successful retirement outcomes.

Learn more about the Council at www.retirementadvisor.us

For more information and/or
interview requests:
Eric Henon
(860) 653-1705
[email protected]

SOURCE Retirement Advisor Council