Our Role As A Fiduciary

What does the term ‘fiduciary’ mean in the context of your investments, and your relationship with your investment advisor? By definition, a fiduciary is someone who owes another party the highest level of trust. In our work, the fiduciary standard dictates that we go beyond ‘suitability,’ to generate advice that is first and foremost in your best interest.

An investment fiduciary is a financial professional, or any other person (eg. a board member, or other organizational representative) who has the legal responsibility for managing somebody else's money.

We act as a fiduciary in our work with companies whose qualified retirement plans we manage. We are ethically, financially, and legally bound to put your interests above all others. It’s as simple as that.

The Accredited Investment Fiduciary (AIF®)

Investment fiduciaries and professionals are constantly exposed to legal and practical scrutiny. Accredited Investment Fiduciary® (AIF®) designees have the ability to implement a prudent process into their own investment practices as well as being able to assist others in implementing proper policies and procedures.

Perry Koplik and Cameron Koplik are both AIF® designees. They have completed the requisite training, fulfilled the experience requirements, passed the conduct standards, and abide by the code of ethics expected of Accredited Investment Fiduciaries. 

Helping you develop your Investment Policy Statement

An Investment Policy Statement (“IPS”) is intended to assist your organization’s Investment Committee by establishing guidelines for making investment-related decisions in a prudent manner.

It outlines the underlying philosophies and processes for the selection, evaluation, monitoring, and, if necessary, termination of the investment options offered by the Plan. The IPS is not a contract; rather it intends to:

We will work with you to periodically review your Investment Policy Statement and, if necessary, amend it to reflect changes in the capital markets, plan objectives, or other factors relevant to your Plan.

Providing you with an appropriate range of investment options

Long-term investment performance, in large part, is primarily a function of asset class mix. As with any investment decision, one must balance the risks and rewards.

ERISA Fiduciary Services

We will recommend a Plan platform provider. We will assist you with the preparation and dissemination of a request for proposal (RFP) for a plan platform provider (“Provider”) for your Plan. We will evaluate the RFP responses and provide recommendations to the Plan Sponsor about the Provider(s) to be selected and recommend changes to Provider(s) when appropriate. We will provide reports, information and recommendations once every three to five years thereafter or upon reasonable request designed to assist the Plan Sponsor to monitor the provider’s investments and services.

We will conduct investment analysis for participant directed Plans. We will review the investment options available on the platform selected for the Plan, recommend to the Plan an investment menu, monitor the performance of the options selected for the investment menu, report annually or upon reasonable request to the Plan Sponsor on that performance (including conducting fee benchmarking.)

We will assist with your Plan’s Investment Policy Statement (IPS). We will review with the Plan, the investment objectives, risk tolerance and goals of the Plan and will recommend investment policies to assist the Plan to establish an appropriate IPS, or recommend changes to a Plan’s existing IPS, if appropriate.

Non-Fiduciary Services

We provide enrollment services. Conduct enrollment meetings for employees who are not plan participants for the purpose of providing general information and material about the terms of the plan, the operation of the plan and/or general information about the investment alternatives available under the plan.

We conduct participant education. Conduct investment education meetings for planned participants for the purpose of providing general information and materials about the terms of the plan, the operation of the plan and/or general information about the investment alternatives available under the plan.

We provide education for you, the Plan's sponsor. Provide education to the plan sponsor on certain responsibilities and concepts to be aware of when acting as a fiduciary to a retirement plan, including:

• Assist and educate the plan's sponsor in determining appropriate plan parameters and provisions for the plan.

• Assist and educate the plan's sponsor in establishing procedures to review participant education and communication strategies including ERISA, 404 (c) requirements.

• Assist and educate the plans sponsor in establishing procedures to coordinate and reconcile participant disclosures under ERISA section 404 (a.

• Assist and educate the plans sponsor in developing requirements for responding to participant requests for additional information.

• Assist and educate the plan’s sponsor in determining appropriate review procedures to determine the reasonableness of the compensation being paid by the plan for the services being provided and develop and maintain a fiduciary audit file.