|
 Industry
Insight from Fred Barstein
401kExchange Small Market 2008
Mid-Year Provider Ratings Drop
AS WITH THE Mid Market ($10-$100
million), satisfaction among Small Market ($1-$10 million)
plan sponsors dropped significantly. Satisfaction fell by
15% for fund services and 13% for record keeping and
administrative services as compared to results at the end of
2007 based on surveys completed by 401kExchange with over
15,000 sponsors from January 1-June 30, 2008. Though the
stock market can have a dramatic affect on satisfaction
levels, there is no doubt that sponsors are getting more
sophisticated and are less satisfied with overall levels of
service. The big question is whether the rise in
dissatisfaction will result in plan movement.
CPI topped all providers for fund related
services while Benefits of Missouri grabbed top honors for
record keeping and administration; CPI’s ratings improved
from 2007 while Benefits of Missouri has never had enough
surveys to qualify. Daily Access broke into the top 10 fund
category along with larger vendors like Vanguard and
JP
Morgan; T Rowe, which outsources record keeping to
BFDS in
the small market, gained top honors in the administrative
and record-keeping category along with Baden, Newport and
Oppenheimer. Independent TPA/record keepers have grown in
the small market with larger ones like CPI, Daily Access and
Newport getting national attention while smaller ones are
gaining traction giving national providers a run for their
money. As a class, independents now have a greater market
share than even insurance companies for plans under $10
million and offer a viable alternative to advisors looking
for completely open investment platforms, greater fee
disclosure and lower costs. Large, national providers offer
more sales support and better education and enrollment
materials; their edge on record-keeping technology is
getting smaller and becoming less important.
|
Fund Manager 2008
Mid Year |
#
of |
%
Rated |
2007 |
|
Surveys |
4
or 5 |
Ranking |
|
1 |
CPI Qualified Plan Consultants |
33 |
66.67% |
|
|
2 |
Fidelity American Life |
31 |
64.52% |
|
|
3 |
Vanguard Group, The |
167 |
60.48% |
|
|
4 |
Mutual of America |
25 |
60.00% |
10 |
|
5 |
JP Morgan |
42 |
59.52% |
9 |
|
6 |
Marshall & Ilsley Trust Co |
49 |
59.18% |
1 |
|
7 |
Guardian Life Insurance Co |
75 |
58.67% |
|
|
8 |
Branch Bank & Trust |
62 |
56.45% |
|
|
9 |
American Funds |
830 |
56.27% |
6 |
|
10 |
DailyAccess Corporation |
34 |
55.88% |
|
|
|
Market Total |
15,526 |
51.04% |
|
|
Plan Administrator/ RecordKeeper 2008 Mid Year |
#
of |
%
Rated |
2007 |
|
Surveys |
4
or 5 |
Ranking |
|
1 |
Benefits of Missouri Inc |
28 |
71.43% |
|
|
2 |
T Rowe Price |
65 |
67.69% |
|
|
3 |
Baden Retirement Plan Services |
43 |
67.44% |
|
|
4 |
JP Morgan |
26 |
65.38% |
|
|
5 |
Vanguard Group, The |
88 |
64.77% |
|
|
6 |
Third Party Administrators Inc. |
28 |
64.29% |
|
|
7 |
Newport Group |
70 |
64.29% |
|
|
8 |
Oppenheimer Funds |
33 |
63.64% |
|
|
9 |
Marshall & Ilsley Trust Co |
46 |
63.04% |
6 |
|
10 |
UNIFI Companies |
43 |
62.79% |
1 |
|
|
Market Total |
15,364 |
55.94% |
|
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