PLANSPONSOR - June/July 2018 - 42

FEATURE STORY
Narrowing It Down
C
onducting a request for proposals (RFP) is now standard
operating procedure in a recordkeeper search. But could
the industry have oversold the value of this procedure?
At least one adviser principal believes so. " I don't think they're
accomplishing what we initially thought we would accomplish
with them, " says Chad J. Larsen, president and CEO of advisory
firm MRP in Denver.
Larsen is not saying sponsors should eliminate RFPs from
their recordkeeper searches, but that they have become too lengthy,
too generic to really help the sponsor make a good decision. " The
vast majority of the questions asked will be answered the same way
by the different responders, " he notes. " The marketplace for retirement
plan services is so much more advanced today that so many
things [such as having a participant website] are a given now. "
Plans have very specific needs, and the sponsors should
focus on those when conducting an RFP, he says. " Sponsors need
to ask themselves, 'Ultimately, what are we trying to improve?'
Or, 'What is the situation we're not happy with and is therefore
why we're going out to market?' "
42 PLANSPONSOR.com June-July 2018
Art by James Yang
How to focus on crucial needs when doing a request for proposals
Pain Points
It is important to utilize a written process when doing a search.
" Without that, it's too easy to be sold something, " says Joe Brummel,
director, retirement plan consulting team, at Wealth Enhancement
Group in Burnsville, Minnesota. " The written process will get at a
plan's real issues better, make for a more objective process and lead
to better-and better-documented-decisions. "
But beyond that, Brummel says, sponsors should customize
an RFP to the needs of their plan and participant base. " Plan sponsors
really do need to define the process upfront, to be clear with
recordkeepers about: 'Here is the problem we're trying to solve
for,' " he says. " You will have a better questionnaire [to] put out and
a much more methodical process for making your decision. "
Sponsors that neglect to narrow the scope before doing an
extensive RFP will likely confront a mountain of recordkeeper
responses. " They'll need to spend substantial time evaluating
and reviewing those responses, " says Joseph Topp, a principal
at Francis Investment Counsel LLC in Brookfield, Wisconsin.
" You may better utilize your time if, on the front end, you really

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PLANSPONSOR - June/July 2018

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of PLANSPONSOR - June/July 2018

Opportunities Knock
2018 Plan Administration Guide, Part 2
Narrowing It Down
ESG Comes to Light
Protection at All Costs
The Sum of All Sources
Upwardly Mobile
PLANSPONSOR - June/July 2018 - C1
PLANSPONSOR - June/July 2018 - FC1
PLANSPONSOR - June/July 2018 - FC2
PLANSPONSOR - June/July 2018 - C2
PLANSPONSOR - June/July 2018 - 1
PLANSPONSOR - June/July 2018 - 2
PLANSPONSOR - June/July 2018 - 3
PLANSPONSOR - June/July 2018 - 4
PLANSPONSOR - June/July 2018 - 5
PLANSPONSOR - June/July 2018 - 6
PLANSPONSOR - June/July 2018 - 7
PLANSPONSOR - June/July 2018 - 8
PLANSPONSOR - June/July 2018 - 9
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PLANSPONSOR - June/July 2018 - 12
PLANSPONSOR - June/July 2018 - 13
PLANSPONSOR - June/July 2018 - 14
PLANSPONSOR - June/July 2018 - 15
PLANSPONSOR - June/July 2018 - 16
PLANSPONSOR - June/July 2018 - 17
PLANSPONSOR - June/July 2018 - Opportunities Knock
PLANSPONSOR - June/July 2018 - 19
PLANSPONSOR - June/July 2018 - 20
PLANSPONSOR - June/July 2018 - 21
PLANSPONSOR - June/July 2018 - 2018 Plan Administration Guide, Part 2
PLANSPONSOR - June/July 2018 - 23
PLANSPONSOR - June/July 2018 - 24
PLANSPONSOR - June/July 2018 - 25
PLANSPONSOR - June/July 2018 - 26
PLANSPONSOR - June/July 2018 - 27
PLANSPONSOR - June/July 2018 - 28
PLANSPONSOR - June/July 2018 - 29
PLANSPONSOR - June/July 2018 - 30
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PLANSPONSOR - June/July 2018 - 40
PLANSPONSOR - June/July 2018 - 41
PLANSPONSOR - June/July 2018 - Narrowing It Down
PLANSPONSOR - June/July 2018 - 43
PLANSPONSOR - June/July 2018 - 44
PLANSPONSOR - June/July 2018 - 45
PLANSPONSOR - June/July 2018 - ESG Comes to Light
PLANSPONSOR - June/July 2018 - 47
PLANSPONSOR - June/July 2018 - 48
PLANSPONSOR - June/July 2018 - 49
PLANSPONSOR - June/July 2018 - Protection at All Costs
PLANSPONSOR - June/July 2018 - 51
PLANSPONSOR - June/July 2018 - The Sum of All Sources
PLANSPONSOR - June/July 2018 - 53
PLANSPONSOR - June/July 2018 - Upwardly Mobile
PLANSPONSOR - June/July 2018 - 55
PLANSPONSOR - June/July 2018 - 56
PLANSPONSOR - June/July 2018 - C3
PLANSPONSOR - June/July 2018 - C4
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