RECORD KEEPERS PROFILED in the 2007 DCP Advisor study include:

To be included, a statistically valid sample of advisors had to consider the provider to be in their “top 3”.  In essence, the list includes the top 24 most widely sold providers in the market.  The full results will be released to all broker dealers that participate in the upcoming DCP Broker Dealer Study giving them a new tool to help them assess the quality of providers that they recommend to their registered reps based on those same reps’ collective wisdom.

As always, the key factors driving overall advisor satisfaction focus on human touch points, especially the wholesaler.  Whether record keepers with the best reputation, service and investment selections attract the best wholesalers or those with the best wholesalers have the necessary sales to support great service, the results are the same.  No matter how great the service and technology, providers will ultimately be judged by advisors on the quality of their local wholesaler.  Though there is much debate about the sustainability of current wholesaler compensation, the DCP results show just how much advisors value relationships with their wholesaler and will vote with their feet if providers decide to hire less experienced salespeople in an effort to save money.  Instead, smart providers are looking for ways to leverage the time and effort of their wholesalers, not shave compensation, and provide the best platforms that great wholesalers feel confident recommending to their network of advisors.

Fee disclosure and fiduciary roles continue to grow in importance.  While 90% of advisors claim that they disclose their compensation to sponsors, up from 85% in 2005, only 62% believe that their clients understand their commissions, down from 70% in 2005.  And while 94% want their providers to disclose fees to sponsors, up from 90% in 2005, only 70% of advisors want providers to disclose their fees to participants.  There continues to be a serious disconnect between advisors and their broker dealers about the advisor’s role as a plan fiduciary; 61% of advisors consider themselves to be plan fiduciaries up from 55% in 2005 while only 38% of these advisors think their broker dealer considers them to be fiduciaries. 

 Return to Newsletter