Fiduciary Services

Ark Advisors 401k Fiduciary Services provides guidance, oversight and fiduciary solutions to small business plan sponsors. The result is an integrated program that puts in place tools, processes and organizational structures leading to well-informed decision-making, risk management and a higher probability of successful outcomes.

Plan design Analysis - Review your existing plan documents and plan results to determine what changes need to be implemented to increase the probability of successful retirement outcomes.

Fee Assessment/Negotiation – As an ERISA fiduciary you have an obligation to ensure that your plan’s fees and expenses are reasonable in light of the level and quality of services being provided. Unfortunately, most plan sponsors do not know their plan’s total cost of ownership. We help you uncover and document all the fees (both explicit and implicit) associated with your plan and recommend specific steps you can take to reduce those fees if applicable. When appropriate, we will assist you in negotiating the fee arrangements.

Investment Policy Development – We believe a written investment policy is the only way to demonstrate a thoughtful process and make well-informed, prudent investment decisions. We help you develop your overall investment policy approach and create you Investment Policy Statement which describes the procedures and metrics used to manage the investment process.

Metrics, Reporting and Analysis - Monitoring investments is a necessary and essential part of your fiduciary responsibilities. To ensure your decision-making process is consistent with your investment policy, you need a way to drive the right actions and behaviors using focused performance monitoring and analytics. We assist you by tracking key metrics to confirm that investment performance adheres to you Investment Policy Statement, identifying any areas of concern and recommending changes as necessary.

Ongoing Fiduciary Governance - Establishing and following a sound fiduciary governance process is vital to good decision-making and proper fiduciary behavior. We help you develop and implement the optimal organization and governance design for your plan.

Fiduciary Training – We offer fiduciary education for plan sponsors and their fiduciaries. We’ll explain general fiduciary principles and provide practical suggestion on how fiduciary liability can be mitigated through procedural prudence. We’ll also provide you with sample tools that will help you fulfill your ERISA fiduciary duties.