2022 PLANADVISER Retirement Plan Advisers of the Year

The 2022 PLANADVISER Retirement Plan Adviser of the Year award recognizes advisers that demonstrate leadership and a commitment to excellence for their retirement plan sponsor clients, participants and the industry at large. To qualify as a finalist in each of the six different categories (Plan Sponsor Service; Plan Participant Service; Mentorship; Efforts to Improve Diversity, Equity and Inclusion; Community Impact and Giving Back; and Closing the Coverage Gap), advisers were selected using a qualitative and quantitative methodology. 

Advisers that are selected as finalists must have a significant majority of business revenue derived from employer-sponsored retirement plans; serve as a fiduciary; have regular service delivery and client contact; and be committed to fee-based compensation. Advisers are evaluated based on their answers to essay questions related to their practices and metrics related to the specific category in which they compete. Advisers are judged on a qualitative basis by a panel of judges including members of the PLANSPONSOR and PLANADVISER editorial teams and previous adviser winners of the award.  

In 2022, a total of 120 advisers and advisory practices were nominated. Of those, 25 (21%) were named as finalists for the award across the six categories. The PLANADVISER Retirement Plan Adviser of the Year award, created and conducted by PLANADVISER, is not indicative of an investment adviser's future performance and no adviser pays, or is paid a fee, to take part in the program.

NAPA Young Guns: Top Retirement Plan Advisors Under 40: 2018

Nominations from the list were provided by NAPA Broker-Dealer/RIA Firm Partners. Nominees had to be retirement plan advisors with their own book of business, and had to be less than 40 years of age (born after January 1, 1977.) Nominees were required to submit responses to an application comprised of a series of quantitative and qualitative questions about their experience, size and composition of their practice, awards and recognitions, and industry contributions, which were then reviewed by a panel of senior advisor industry experts, who, based on those criteria, and following a broker-check review, selected the top young advisors. The list is created and conducted by the National Association of Plan Advisors, an affiliate organization of the American Retirement Association, a non-profit association. No fee is charged to participate. The rating is not indicative of the applicant’s future performance. In 2018, 588 nominations were received. 75 were ultimately selected.

NAPA Top DC Advisor Firms

Established in 2017, nominees had to be individual advisor team/offices with a defined contribution book of business. To be considered, firms had to submit responses to an application form, including information about their practices, notably their defined contribution (DC) assets under advisement. The list is created and conducted by the National Association of Plan Advisors, an affiliate organization of the American Retirement Association, a non-profit association. No fee is charged to participate. The rating is not indicative of the nominee’s future performance. Teams are ranked by assets under advisement, self-reported by advisor firm/teams. Approximately 300 submissions were received and 250 were selected.”

The Financial Times 401 Top Retirement Advisors 2019

The Financial Times 401 Top Retirement Advisors is an independent listing produced annually by the Financial Times (October 2019). The FT 401 is based on data gathered from advisors, regulatory disclosures, and the FT’s research. The listing reflects each advisor’s status in six primary areas: DC plan assets under management, DC plan growth rate, specialization in DC plans, years of experience, advanced industry credentials, and compliance record. Among the top factors in scoring, DC plan assets accounted for roughly 60 to 65 per cent of each adviser’s score, on average. Another 12 to 18 per cent of the score derived from the growth in the adviser’s DC business (as measured in both DC assets and number of DC plans advised). This year, to emphasize long-term client satisfaction, a three-year growth rate was used instead of the one- and two-year growth rates that were used in the past. Out of 700 applications; approximately 57% received the award. This honor is not indicative of the advisor’s future performance. Neither the advisors nor their parent firms pay a fee to the Financial Times in exchange for inclusion in the FT 401.