What We Do

WE OPTIMIZE YOUR RETIREMENT PLAN; align your goals and improve outcomes

You want a compelling retirement plan to attract talented employees. You also want to control costs and ensure that your regulatory and fiduciary obligations are met. Whether you are building a new plan or need to fix your current plan, IFS can help.



IFS helps you reach your objectives and improve retirement outcomes for your participants

• Plan selection, design, documentation, communication services and investment committee support

• Administration, compliance and regulatory guidance

• Fiduciary review, education and consulting

• Vendor selection search and review

• Business succession planning



We can help you navigate and meet complex regulatory requirements. We are trained specialists in the area of fiduciary consulting and you can be confident that IFS will help you meet your regulatory obligations and keep you up-to-date on all requirement changes in this constantly evolving retirement plan landscape. We map out the full range of your responsibilities and provide a framework for developing a successful, compliant retirement plan.



Fiduciary Services
Fiduciary standards have been characterized as the "highest know to law" and most corporate senior executives along with certain HR personal and investment committee members are considered, by either their title or actions, to be plan fiduciaries and fully subject to the exposure of personal liability found under ERISA.

 

IFS delivers the following Fiduciary Services via a written engagement letter along with an annual service calendar:

    • Development of an Investment Policy Statement
    • Benchmarking of investment provider fees and expenses
    • Training of investment committee members as to their duties and obligations
    • Establishment of investment committee by-laws
    • Easy to understand fund analytics which tie directly to the thresholds established in the Investment Policy Statement
    • Quarterly due diligence visits with investment committee to prudently select and monitor investment options
    • Recordable minutes for prudent documentation
    • Electronic backup of investment committee related documentation
    • Annual Self-Assessment of Fiduciary Excellence (SAFE®) to assist in analyzing how well the organization is meeting defined global fiduciary standards.


Benchmarking Your Advisor

ERISA plan fiduciaries have an obligation to determine whether they have the internal expertise in prudent plan governance or engage those who would be considered “prudent experts� to assist them in this area. These same fiduciaries have a further obligation to prudently benchmark these “experts� once they have been engaged.

Majority of the questions below are based on one or more fiduciary practices which have been fully substantiated by legislation, case law, and regulatory opinion letters as identified in Prudent Investment Practices for Investment Advisors published by FI360®.


Each question is intended to be answered in the affirmative (“Yes�). Note that this is not an all-inclusive listing of measurements you should utilize to analyze how well your Advisor is meeting defined global fiduciary standards of excellence but represents some of the key components:

  • Has the Investment Advisor acknowledged their fiduciary status in writing?
  • Are conflicts of interest and self-dealing avoided?
  • Does your Advisor have applicable credentialing to support their expertise?
  • Are “watch listâ€� procedures followed for underperforming investment options?
  • Does your Advisor illustrate the fees paid for various services periodically with industry benchmarks?
  • Do you know how your Advisor is compensated and does this compensation vary based upon investment selection?
  • Are service agreements and contracts in writing and are they free of any provisions that may conflict with fiduciary standards of care?
  • Is your Advisor also acting in the capacity of a Fiduciary Adviser under the Pension Protection Act of 2006?
  • If so, are the requirements being met enabling you to be free of liability from advice being given to your participants?