No, far from it. Many firms provide a fiduciary service that augments their primary plan administration business. For them, it’s an additional line of work and revenue stream. Invariably, these providers do not legally assume the role as 3(16) Plan Administrator and 402(a) Named Fiduciary. Unless they do so, they are still leaving fiduciary responsibilities and duties in your lap. Some will tell you so, others will leave this fuzzy. Either way, you’re still on the hook.

At FCG, our sole purpose is to remove your fiduciary obligations and put this on our shoulders… legally. We don’t go part way; we go all-in to alleviate your liability and burden of sponsoring your retirement plan.

We focus on the critical fiduciary areas of plan administrative, operational and regulatory compliance of our client’s retirement plan. We’ve found these areas are often overlooked by plan sponsors, yet are often the source of the greatest risk exposure to employers. We can provide either compliance consulting and oversight, or total outsourced plan management depending on each client’s unique situation and needs.

It is prudent for the plan sponsor to fully understand their role as a fiduciary to the plan and their inherent responsibilities and liability. We find that most plan sponsors don’t fully appreciate the extent of these concerns. The financial advisor who introduces their client to an expert and exclusively dedicated 3(16) service provider such as FCG, helps them fully understand their obligations and options to address their role as fiduciary. This creates peace of mind for the sponsor and a halo to the advisor.

When an ERISA 3(16) Plan Administrator like FCG accepts the role of Plan Administrator and 402 Named Fiduciary, the plan document is amended to transfer management responsibilities to us. Other providers’ role may not extend this far, and that leaves plan sponsors at risk.

FCG’s is an independent fiduciary. Our ability to provide “non-biased”oversight reflects this core intention as a standalone entity unencumbered by the proprietary products and services many retirement plan providers offer. Because our services are limited to fiduciary mitigation, we can assess the fees and responsibilities of other plan providers without conflict of interest. Other providers may offer plan services in addition to 3(16), thereby introducing inherent bias.