Assessment of Fees

A Roland|Criss assessment diagnosis a pension plan or foundation's supply chain strategy, tests the reasonableness of vendors' fees, authenticates vendors' fiduciary claims, reviews service agreements, analyzes operating processes, and inspects the service providers' practices against relevant standards for each vendor's category.  While conducting assessments, Roland|Criss acknowledges an Administrative Fiduciary duty under ERISA.

Typical results of assessments include:

• Eliminates economic uncertainty about the fees charged by investment and administration services vendors.
• The Vendor Value Index™ reveals costs in relation to services actually delivered by vendors at a detail level that are typically disguised beneath the fee benchmarking approaches promoted by vendors.
• Uses a methodology employed by the courts to document excessive vendors' fees.
• Constructs a complete foundation of key information on which to build and implement a comprehensive vendor cost containment strategy.
• Improves returns on investment ("ROI") for retirement accounts, corporate contributions to benefit plans, and donors' contributions.
• Delivers an opinion of compliance with Department of Labor Regulation 408(b)(2) for pension plans and UPMIFA for foundations.
• Prepares pension plan sponsors for certification.

Case studies of the results of scores of assessments are available here from Roland|Criss.

Many executives that purchase investment and administration services for their ERISA qualified plans and non-profit foundations wonder if they can trust their vendors.  A free white paper reveals Roland|Criss' viewpoint.