Fiduciary Quality Management System

Stonegate Wealth Management employs a rigorous fiduciary quality management system in both our fiduciary assessment and consulting practices. We bring structure, discipline and accountability to the management of your employee retirement plan. Our approach is based on global fiduciary practices.

Step 1 – Organize: First we collect and organize information about your retirement plan, from you and your current vendors.

Next, we analyze your plan to answers these key questions:

• How is the service?
• Is your plan succeeding at its primary mission of leading participants to a financially secure retirement?
• Does your plan utilize the full range of design opportunities?
• How do your current vendor and service features compare to what is available in the marketplace?
• How do costs compare?
• Is the plan user friendly for both the participants and administrative staff?
• Are all fiduciaries identified aware of their responsibilities and qualified to take them on?
• Are fiduciaries performing and documenting their duties correctly, as specified by our fiduciary checklist?

We then determine areas that can be improved. Often we identify opportunities for improvement that are available by investigating the capabilities of the current vendors, and recommending changes where appropriate.

Step 2 – Formalize: In this step, we identify deficiencies and areas of improvement:

• Preparing or updating the Investment Policy Statement (IPS).
  
  • The IPS provides an overall plan investment strategy and sensible selection process, defines duties of all parties, provides beneficial diversification opportunities, and defines monitoring processes for investments and expenses.
• Reviewing current investment options, comparing them to IPS strategy, and recommending replacements if necessary.
• Identifying current fees compared to industry benchmarks, the marketplace, and guidelines established in the IPS.
• Conducting due diligence on current providers.
• Negotiating fees or services when appropriate.
• Taking full advantage of the features offered by your vendors, or finding new vendors if necessary.
• Creating an Education Policy Statement.

This step includes identifying changes and improvements desired to mitigate any identified fiduciary risks, improve participation, and understand and manage plan costs.  It may involve selecting new providers or simply making changes with current providers.

Step 3 – Implement: Here, we recommend a plan of action to implement those enhancements and act on the opportunities identified in the first two steps.

Implementation may include:

• Aligning investments with the Investment Policy Statement.
• Creating a paper trail of the investment and provider selection process.
• Setting up centralized compliance and audit files.
• Executing our Education Plan.
• Improving services with current vendors, or converting to a new provider.

Once the implementation phase is complete, all plan components will be aligned to your company goals and participant needs. The processes will be documented, your compliance file complete and accessible, fees uncovered, understood and justified.

Step 4 – Monitor: Ongoing monitoring is as important as your original implementation. We can help you conduct and document your duties as a fiduciary.  We can provide a template and staunch guidance to make sure the work is done, and done precisely.

Using appropriate benchmarks, each investment is measured for risk, return, and overall performance. Fundamental changes in each investment are monitored, as outlined in your Investment Policy Statement. The most suitable money managers can then be selected from the available pool.

You will establish a plan oversight committee, written fiduciary governance processes, a formal investment policy, regular review meetings, and detailed documentation. You will understand your providers’ fees, and how they compare to the marketplace and your industry.

Finally, you are enabling:

• Each employee’s retirement readiness to be monitored.
• The necessary adjustments to plan features to be made.
• Education and advice platforms that can improve participant outcomes and plan satisfaction to be completed.