PLANSPONSOR - December/January 2020 - 26

RESEARCH | 2019 PLANSPONSOR BEST IN CLASS DC PROVIDERS
SMALL MARKET - A: PLAN ASSETS $5mm - $25mm
THE SMALL MARKET - A segment is once again home to the largest
collection of providers found in the survey and continues to offer
sponsors a wide range of service options. The competitive forces at
play appear to be pushing service levels higher across the market,
as 12 of the 19 recordkeepers qualifying in this market won 10 or
more Best in Class (BIC) awards, doubling the count from 2018.
With service levels improving at many providers, sponsors
may find they no longer need to choose between the high-touch,
personalized service offered by smaller providers and the wellestablished
reputations and proven experience of larger ones. To
reinforce this point, the market's leader boards are home to a mix
of smaller and larger recordkeepers.
What is clear from the results is that sponsors in this market
have slightly higher expectations of providers. Overall, average
satisfaction dropped by more than 5% in 10 of the 23 service
categories, with the largest drops found in satisfaction with
plan reporting and plan analytics/benchmarking, participant
websites, participant call centers and plan enrollment materials.
Top 5 Small Market - A Providers
By Net Recommendation/Promoter Score
1 Securian Financial
2 BOK Financial
3 Ascensus
4 Newport Group
5 BB&T Retirement and Institutional Services
5 Charles Schwab
Net Recommendation Rate, 2015 - 2019
64.7%
58.0%
2015
2016
61.9%
2017
2018
Service Satisfaction for Top 5 Providers
Ordered by Net Recommendation/Promoter Score
= Best in Class
Plan Administration
1 Securian Financial
2 John Hancock
3 Ascensus
4 BOK Financial
5 Newport Group
Technology
1 Securian Financial
2 BOK Financial
3 Ascensus
4 John Hancock
5 Charles Schwab
92.9%
90.3%
82.0%
77.8%
76.0%
76.0%
Participant Education
1 Securian Financial
2 BOK Financial
3 Charles Schwab
4 Ascensus
5 John Hancock
Sponsor Services
1 Securian Financial
64.3%
63.8%
2019
Investment/Fees
Other providers and their recommendation percentage
listed in this market: Bank of America (62.5%); Charles Schwab
(76.0%); CUNA Mutual Retirement Solutions (31.8%); Empower
Retirement (61.8%); Fidelity Investments (47.6%); John Hancock
(70.4%); MassMutual (42.3%); OneAmerica (68.3%); Principal
Financial Group (73.7%); Sentinel Benefits & Financial Group
(55.0%); The Standard (68.3%); Transamerica Retirement Solutions
(24.1%); T. Rowe Price (61.5%); Voya Financial (70.3%)
1 Securian Financial
2 T. Rowe Price
3 Ascensus
4 BOK Financial
5 Newport Group
% >8 out of 10 # of s
85.6%
84.5%
81.9%
80.5%
79.2%
3
3
3
3
3
2 BOK Financial
3 Sentinel Benefits & Financial Group
4 Ascensus
5 OneAmerica
% >8 out of 10 # of s
96.4%
83.5%
81.7%
81.5%
77.5%
5
5
5
5
5
% >8 out of 10 # of s
87.0%
77.9%
74.7%
71.9%
69.6%
6
6
5
4
1
% >8 out of 10 # of s
92.9%
80.2%
70.3%
68.1%
67.9%
6
6
3
2
2
% >8 out of 10 # of s
96.4%
93.5%
88.6%
88.5%
87.3%
3
3
3
3
3
26 PLANSPONSOR.COM December 2019 - January 2020
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PLANSPONSOR - December/January 2020

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