Not All 401(k) Plans are Alike

Our plans offer many distinct advantages.  By allowing us to provide you with an objective comparison to your existing 401(k) plan, we can show you the differences in cost, investment performance and service features. After you’ve had a chance to examine this review, you can decide whether our plan fits the needs of your company.

Cost
A typical plan sold by an insurance company or brokerage firm contains charges for administration, fund expenses, wrap fees, and related expenses that frequently add up to as much as 3.5 percent of the total plan assets on an annual basis.  Our plan is transparent and all fees are clearly disclosed.  Typically, our total fees are between 1.2 and 1.8 percent annually.  This provides substantial cost savings to both employers and employees. 

Performance
We design portfolios based on Modern Portfolio Theory using institutional funds that are not available in most 401(k) plans - including funds from Dimensional Fund Advisors (DFA Funds).  We welcome the opportunity to show you the past performance of our model portfolios, explain why inexpensive passive investing has consistently outperformed active strategies, and present the overwhelming amount of academic research that supports our investment philosophy.

Service
You don’t have to give up service in order to obtain lower costs and better performance. Included in our costs are recordkeeping and administrative services provided by outside entities.  As a fiduciary to the plan, our duty includes recommending the service providers that offer the best value.  You and your employees will also have telephone and online access to your personal account information 24 hours a day.  Our plan can include TPA services, providing signature ready IRS forms and trust certification; or, in most cases, you may choose to continue to use the TPA you're used to working with.

Fiduciary Responsibility

In today’s world, litigation is always a concern and employers continually examine ways to reduce exposure to various forms of risk.  As an employer, you face a fiduciary duty to the plan participants (employees) of your qualified retirement plan.  You have a duty to make sure your plan is compliant with all federal regulations, including ERISA.  You also have a duty to make sure the investment choices offered by your plan are consistent with your investment policy statement, which every plan should have.  In addition, you have a duty to offer investment choices without high expenses, that perform in a reasonable manner, and that can provide sufficient diversification.

Working with a Registered Investment Advisor can help.  A Registered Investment Advisor, by definition, is a fiduciary to your plan.  This means you have an advisor in a co-fiduciary position to help guide you.  This is far different from the standard of “suitability” that brokers or insurance company representatives are held to.  By working with a Registered Investment Advisor, you substantially reduce the risks that are inherent with fiduciary duty, allowing you to focus your energies on things that really matter to you - like running your business.

And as an independent advisory firm, we are not owned or controlled by any bank, insurance company or brokerage firm.  We are able to choose the very best investment options and administrative partners without any underlying bias toward any product or company.

The Emergence of the 401(k) Plan

The 401 (k) plan is now the premier retirement savings vehicle in the U.S. with almost $2 trillion in plan assets invested by over 42 million workers. This growth is perhaps most directly attributable to a shift away from traditional or defined benefit pension plans, where employers alone are responsible for providing retirement income for their workers, to 401(k) and other defined contribution plans, where participants share in the responsibility for saving and investing for their retirement.

The 401(k) Investment Knowledge Gap

While today’s 401(k) plans utilize the internet and other recent advancements to offer more features and services than ever before, participants are still woefully unprepared to make informed investment decisions.  According to a recent study, 36% of participants in self-directed retirement plans invest in only one fund, 19% are invested in only two funds, and 80% have never rebalanced their account.  In another study it was found that 64% of plan participants feel their company is providing average to poor education about their retirement plan.

For employers, this knowledge gap in investments is not without risk.  High profile failures, such as Enron and Global Crossing, put even greater pressure on employers to offer sound 401(k) plans to their employees.

93% of 401(k) plan participants believe that “unbiased investment advice is important or very important,” yet only 6% feel their employer is doing an excellent job of providing these services.

The selection of a capable investment advisor can provide a valuable service to participants – taking into account personal factors such as retirement needs and risk tolerance.  Further, if the investment advisor is prudently selected and monitored, the plan sponsor may be relieved from liability for the specific investment recommendations made to the participants by the investment advisor.

The Talis AdvisorPlan 401(k) Program

The Talis AdvisorPlan 401(k) program combines the strengths of experienced ERISA attorneys, institutional mutual funds, expert investment advisors, and dependable third party administration in an easily implemented package.

Our objective is to help each employee maximize his or her standard of living in retirement by providing professional advice.  One of the primary advantages of the AdvisorPlan 401(k) program is that participants can select a diversified and professionally designed investment portfolio based on their individual risk tolerance and time horizon. However, we also offer the option for individual participants to design their own portfolios based on individual mutual fund selection within the plan.

Investment Portfolio Options
Talis Advisory Services offers five investment portfolios, each consisting of a strategic blend of mutual funds designed to achieve an investment objective ranging from conservative to aggressive based on controlled exposure to risk factors.  The portfolios are regularly rebalanced to ensure that each portfolio’s asset allocation remains consistent with its stated investment objective. All of the funds in our model portfolios are no-load, which means there are no sales loads or commission charges being deducted from participant accounts. 

Talis AdvisorPlan Model Portfolios

PORTFOLIO I	PORTFOLIO II
The investment objective of Portfolio I is a rate of return consistent with the preservation of capital. This portfolio is the most conservative portfolio of the five asset allocation portfolios and is designed for the participant with low risk tolerance and/or a short term investment horizon.	The investment objective of Portfolio II is safety of principal with a secondary objective of moderate growth. Portfolio II is generally most appropriate for a participant with a 5 – 10 year investment horizon.
PORTFOLIO III	PORTFOLIO IV
The investment objective of Portfolio III is moderate growth. This portfolio emphasizes stock funds, while retaining a fixed income component. Portfolio III is generally most appropriate for a participant with a 10 – 20 year investment horizon.	The investment objective of Portfolio IV is long-term growth. Portfolio IV consists primarily of stock funds, with minimal investments in fixed income. This portfolio is generally most appropriate for the participant with a 15 – 20 year investment horizon.
PORTFOLIO V
The investment objective of Portfolio V is maximum long term growth. Portfolio V is the most aggressive portfolio and is generally appropriate for a participant with an investment horizon of 25 or more years.