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Investment advisory SERVICES

Both the DOL and SEC strongly encourage companies to hire independent consultants to assist  with both investment advisory issues and legal and compliance issues.  Regulatory focus is being centered on ERISA’s “independence” requirement.   EPIC is an independent consulting firm specializing in Defined Contribution and Defined Benefit Plans.  EPIC offers Clients unbiased, independent advice,  in an effort to ensure that our Clients are  addressing their fiduciary duties.  We work in conjunction with Plan Providers, filling in the independent investment advisory and Participant  education services that they cannot.  The overriding objective of EPIC is to  help the Sponsor reduce liability.  We work exclusively for and are exclusively loyal to you, our Client.  We are independent, by ERISA’s definition.  We seek to decrease the fiduciary’s liability through our Investment Advisory Services and to increase Participant awareness through employee communication and education.

Investment Advisory Services include:

  • Investment Review
  • Investment Performance Monitoring
  • Investment Policy Statement Review


INVESTMENT REVIEW

Plan Sponsors face considerable responsibility in selecting the investment options for their employees' 401k Plans.  EPIC, as Investment Consultant to the Plan, shoulders  the responsibility entrusted to it by the Plan Sponsor to  make recommendations regarding the investment options of the Plan in the manner  designed to best suit the Plan’s objectives – employing a strategy which attempts to optimize returns while effectively controlling risk for each investment option as well as the Plan as a whole,    To that end, EPIC was founded with the belief that Plan Sponsors must receive totally independent, unbiased, proactive advice, including:

We at EPIC work in conjunction with ERISA attorneys and with your Provider, facilitating access to the compliance service in an effort to help protect you, the Plan Sponsor,  to reduce liability.  To that end, we provide:

  • Macro and micro analysis of Plan Investment Options
  • Performance Monitoring of Investment Options
  • Qualified third party Opinion with documented evidential proof the Plan satisfies the diversification requirement of Section 404(c)
  • QDIA review and recommendation
  • Investment fee analysis and benchmarking


INVESTMENT PERFORMANCE Monitoring

We at EPIC believe Investment Performance monitoring to be a very integral part of portfolio management with several important areas in which this service can be a value added to the Plan, such as:

  • To help manage fiduciary liability
  • To establish a process and document all performance monitoring duties
  • To supplement Plan Sponsor cognizance of the investment program
  • To provide Participants with information concerning the Plan to reduce the amount of time and effort spent by the Plan Sponsor on this function
  • ITo provide data on which to base possible changes to the investments in the Plan

With these considerations, we provide for timely, accurate and comprehensive information to the Plan Sponsor on Plan investments and their performance to assist in maintaining an investment program with the most suitable of available options. EPIC, as an independent third-party consultant can enhance your fiduciary risk management by ensuring that you are continually apprised in an unbiased manner of the ongoing investment management, performance and operations of the investment options.

Investment Policy Statement Review

Your Investment Policy Statement (IPS) could well represent the single greatest source for potential liability.  The overriding objective of the IPS should be to reduce the Plan Sponsor liability.  EPIC Retirement Services Consulting can  assist you in preparing a customized IPS, if you do not currently have one, and/or review your current IPS and make  suggestions for revisions if it is in fact increasing your potential liability, as written.  The world has dramatically changed in this area over the last several years.  Many Statements are outdated and need to be revised to comply with recent regulations.  Frequently Plan Sponsors have made required changes to their investment platform and Plan documents, but not to the IPS thus taking on unintended responsibility and liability.