PLAN SPONSOR | Q2 13
Strategic research report Applying Fiduciary Leadership™ Notes from the 2013 PLANSPONSOR National Conference Scott Matheson, CFA, CPA Senior Director, CAPTRUST Consulting Research Group
Dan DiGiacomo Vice President, CAPTRUST Financial Advisor
Several CAPTRUST professionals attended this past June’s PLANSPONSOR National Conference in Chicago, themed “Designing Retirement Plans That Work: Getting from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be.” For those unable to attend this annual event for plan sponsors, we wanted to share highlights from this year’s sessions to keep you abreast of what the industry and, perhaps more importantly, your plan sponsor peers are discussing. As the conference title suggests, topics focused on creating and managing outcome-oriented retirement plans. TransAmerica Retirement President of Pension Sales and Distribution Stig Nybo’s keynote titled “Will You (b)e O(k)?” challenged attendees not only to acknowledge America’s retirement readiness problem but also to accept the retirement industry’s responsibility to change behavior and drive better outcomes. Nybo’s presentation focused on the need to transform people’s context in order to transform their behavior. He insisted change was needed if defined contribution plans are going to work as Americans’ primary retirement savings vehicle. His comments successfully set the tone that outcomes matter for the rest of the conference. Similar to Nybo, we insist successful defined contribution plans are those with high participation levels, adequate deferral rates, and well-invested participants.
In This Issue Letter from the Editor
2
Plan Sponsor Highlights
6
Investment Strategy
15
Index Returns
19
Investment Asset Classes
20
CAPTRUST News
23
As we listened and participated in this year’s conference sessions (CAPTRUST subject matter experts presented in six sessions), we couldn’t help but note how many components of our recently introduced Fiduciary Leadership program were represented by speakers. Yet, missing was the integration of each of the pillars; in other words, plan design is great and helpful but must be combined with the right investment menu and education or advice program to be truly successful. And, of course, a sound fiduciary process and well-priced and managed provider relationship must persist for true leadership status. ™
On page three we highlight some of the components of the five pillars noted this June in Chicago and look forward to discussing how the Fiduciary Leadership framework can be integrated into your plan. ™
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