401(k) Plan Administration

For dentists who want to maximize their own retirement nest egg and provide a stronger retirement program for their dental practice employees, evaluating and often changing 401(k) plan administrators is a smart decision.  Why?  Several reasons.

What Are Your Annual

Administrative Fees?

First if you read the financial papers and watch CNBC you will have noticed more and more negative stories about excessive costs being charged by 401(k) plan administrators. 

Small businesses and especially dental professionals who may not have the time or the where-with-all to pay attention to "administrative fees", "filing fees" and "management fees" will not realize they're being over charged for these items.

And one or a 1/2 or 1/4 percentage point may not sound like much but the bigger your portfolio, the more expensive these "fees" are.  And if you can have access to the same funds to invest in, it may make sense to pay less in fees and keep the difference in your own pocket and your employees' pockets.

"Load" versus "No-Load" Mutual Funds

A second reason to evaluate and change your plan administrator is if they are directing you towards "load" mutual funds, as opposed to "no-load" mutual funds.

It's been proven several times that mutual funds that charge "loads" (up-front entrance and/or back-end exit fees) as a group do NOT outperform their no-load mutual fund counterparts.

So changing 401(k) plan administrators for access to no-load mutual funds and families can often save you money that is then automatically available to be invested, which is the point in the first place.

Are Variable Annuities Used

In Your Plan?

A third reason to evaluate your current 401(k) plan administrator is to see if they have you invested in variable annuities inside your and your employees 401(k) plans.  If they do the typical question often asked is why have a tax free investment (variable annuities) inside a tax free investment vehicle (a 401(k) retirement plan)?

Many times the answer is because variable annuities pay large commissions to the people who sell them.  Again the issue is that larger than necessary fees and commissions reduce your amount to invest and therefore your overall return.

We offer a Free 401(k) Audit for this and other situations where we provide you with an analysis of your 401(k) plan performance AND detail out the fees you are paying, high or low, so you can see your entire administration costs that you end up paying.

To start your Free 401(k) Audit, click here to send us an email or call our 401(k) Plan Administration Specialist at 317-581-1300 x52.

How Often Can Or Should You Make Allocation Changes To Your 401(k)?

It's been said that asset allocation is the key to long term investment return.  So the question is how often should you make changes to your investment portfolio within your 401(k) retirement plan?

Should you be like a day trader and watch your performance daily, maybe even make changes that often?  Or should you be a long-term investor and only make changes every few years or so?

The right answer is probably neither example above.  Changing funds or strategic portfolios daily really defeats the purpose of typical mutual fund investing within a 401(k).  At the same time totally ignoring the market for extended periods even when apparent trends would suggest you make adjustments rather than go for years without any allocation changes.

The general rule of thumb is at a minimum evaluate annually and make changes if necessary.  And it doesn't hurt to take a good look at your quarterly statements and if you feel the need to, adjust your allocations OR change your overall strategy model.

In the end you have to feel good about how often and what changes you make so you can sleep at night.  And it helps to have a retirement plan administrator and program that allows you to make changes when and where you see fit.
 

Your 401(k) Plan Administration with Patton and Associates

For the all the above reasons and more this is why we offer a unique 401(k) plan administration that allows you (and your plan participants) to change your investment strategy or adjust your allocation, or both, online AT ANY TIME at no cost.

Plus there are no in or out fees to any of the funds you choose. And we used no-load mutual funds and charge low administration fees to help you and your participants maximize your investment returns.  In the end, that's what it's all about.

We offer you 16 different personally hand picked mutual funds to choose from to build your own asset allocation. Or you can choose from one of our 5 pre-packaged Strategic Portfolios:

1. Conservative
2. Absolute Return
3. Income and Growth
4. Growth
5. Aggressive Growth

We know from talking with past clients that when you look at all the moving parts of 401k plan administration it's easier to just think to your self ‘I don't have the time to dig into all this and try to understand whether or not to make a change and hassle with all the paperwork even if it looks like I should change plan administrators.

We understand this and that's why we offer a FREE 401K Audit.  We will review your current 401k program and give you an objective assessment of the fees you're paying and the investment performance.  Your program, fees and performance will be compared to published averages and market indexes.

We'll not only look at the type of funds your 401k program is investing in (load vs. no-load) but also review your program for the source and amount of custodian and trustee expenses, money management costs, record keeping and administrative fees, education and communication charges and outside advisory service fees.

And even though we'd enjoy having your plan with our company, if you're doing well where you're at we'll tell you that too.  Then at least you'll feel good about comparing your program to what else is out there and that your past decision was a good one.

NOTE – Even if you are using AXA for your 401K administration our FREE 401K Audit will make you aware of the amount of fees you are being charged compared to other administrators using similar portfolios.

To sign up for your Free 401K Audit, click here to send me an email with your contact information.  If you have an immediate need to talk, you are welcome to call me at 317-581-1300 x20.  If I'm not available you can schedule a time and date with my assistant Sara at extension 46.
 

Troy C. Patton, CPA