THANKS TO ALL of you who have participated in the DCP Advisor Survey thus far. Currently, we are about half way to our goal of 500 advisor surveys by the end of March. These surveys help us determine provider performance and help drive change in the marketplace. Your participation is crucial to our and your success.

In exchange of your participation, 401kExchange is offering free online services and tools. Simply click the link above to take the 10-minute survey and choose your free subscription. It's that easy!

Thanks for making this year's DCP Advisor Study a success!

BASED ON 45,000 surveys with 401(k) plan sponsors, the 401kExchange 2006 Market Share Report, also available online by subscription, is the only independent assessment of record keeper penetration (see complete lists below).  While the top 10 had been gaining market share since 2000 evidencing provider consolidation and a flight to safety, 2006 marked a growing change in that trend (see chart at end).  Smaller niche providers without staggering corporate overhead or plans for “world domination” are gaining market share at the expense of larger providers while mid-level providers are stagnating which will cause them to either go or grow, mainly through acquisitions.

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Investment Policy Statements Can Guide Plan Sponsors
 

PLAN SPONSORS ARE typically concerned with two investment activities: fund selection and fund evaluation or monitoring.  Although it may seem pretty straightforward, the process used to execute these tasks can be quite daunting.

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Process Makes Progress
By: Charles D. Epstein, CLU, ChFC, AIF^®

       The 401k Coach^® Program
 

EVERY ADVISOR I meet has a process for how they deliver their unique services and value to plan sponsors and plan participants.  However, only a small fraction of 401(k) advisors have a clearly defined, articulated and packaged that process, which they can deliver on a repeatable basis without having to reinvent the wheel every time they deliver their goods.

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Primarily known as a prolific small- and micro-market record keeper, with over $45 billion funds under management, John Hancock has also become one of the largest managers of lifestyle funds and has recently added target date funds to its line up. Though these funds have grown exclusively on their own record keeping platform, Hancock has begun an effort to make their funds available through other providers. Hancock also recently made significant upgrades to their record keeping system which will allow them to accelerate their move into the mid market.

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THE 401KEXCHANGE OPPORTUNITY INDEX¹ continued its fall in February as all markets experienced double declines compared to 2006 YTD numbers which were significantly lower than 2005.  Particularly slow is the mid-market ($10-$100 million) which had a 56.9% decrease and is experiencing the worst slowdown since we began tracking the Index in 2000.  Only 4.73% of mid-market plan sponsors were thinking of changing or actively searching for a new record keeper compared to a high of 14.38% in February 2005.  Overall, assets in play are 43.2% below 2006 levels.

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Prospect Pipeline APPOINTMENTS
Over $55 Million in 401(k) Set Appointments Available!

Appointments currently available for sale with Plan Sponsors that want to meet face-to-face on a specific date and time!  For lead details, contact your Account Executive or call 877-777-401k ext. 3573 to speak with Mary Christopher (mchristopher@401kExchange.com).