401(k) Specialist Issue 2 - 2020 - 33

401(k) SPECIAL FOCUS
'Spontaneous growth is the result of
being obedient and a steward of the
clients we serve. Strategic growth is the
result of our marketing efforts. I believe
95% of our engagements are the result
of being good stewards of the client
relationships we serve.'
" It's my experience that strong systems make
good people look great, while poor systems
make great people look bad. We are fortunate
to have great systems and great people. "
One critically important process for RPA
is to conduct fiduciary governance training
for all committee members.
" I believe that retirement plan committee
members want to do the right thing. At
the same time, most committee members
are among the brightest and busiest at their
organization. "
Timmerman recalls speaking at a large
employer benefits conference recently to
retirement plan committee members. He
asked attendees that had received fiduciary
governance training to raise their hands. As
expected, only a few did so. "
" I've seen a big difference in how committee
members conduct themselves once
they understand that ERISA subjects them
to personal fiduciary liability. They need
to have prudent processes in place to make
(and document) decisions in the best interest
of plan participants. "
One valuable RPA investment was the
creation of a fiduciary vault for each client that
contains insight from legal counsel, auditors,
expert witnesses, and a former DOL employee.
" RPA clients range from organizations
with 120,000 employees to entrepreneurial
companies with 10 employees. One of our
client goals, regardless of their size, is that they
view our processes as the most organized of
the service providers with whom they work.
We know that fiduciary governance creates a
strong foundation for plan success. "
It's the reason why, he says, he created the
vault, which includes items such as signed
client agreements, signed investment policy
statements (IPS), " our E&O policy, quarterly
monitoring reports, plan reviews, expense
benchmarks, RFP documentation and certificates
for committee members who attend
fiduciary governance training. "
No. 4:
Focus on Service
for Referrals
to Attract New
Clients
" We have a great advisory board at the
firm, and some of the best advice it gave us
was to focus on client service first and growth
will come. We receive all of our new business
from client and advisor referrals, and when
they ask us to speak at events to share our
best-practices with their employers. "
Timmerman recalls an important moment
in his career when a mentor who explained
" spontaneous versus strategic " growth.
" Spontaneous growth is the result of being
obedient and a steward of the clients we serve.
Strategic growth is the result of our marketing
efforts. I believe 95% of our engagements are
the result of being good stewards of the client
relationships we serve. "
Importantly, RPA assigns a point-person
plan consultant at the beginning of the
prospect engagement process, rather than
having a salesperson take the lead only to
disappear once the deal is done.
" I believe clients want consistency, and to
work with the person that manages the RFP
process. I've always felt it was disingenuous
to have a salesperson earn the new client
relationship and then immediately transfer it
to a consultant whom the client doesn't know.
All our consultants are great communicators,
and clients appreciate that they work with the
same person. It also allows me, as the leader,
to focus on processes and mentoring. I might
attend the meeting, but I want the consultant
to handle the presentation. "
No. 5:
Once You Have
Proof of Concept,
Scale It
" In 2015, we assisted a large, national
RIA firm with 15 offices. The firm had
great advisors with loads of integrity that
were operating in the top 1% of the industry
(serving high-net-worth individuals
with asset management, financial planning
and giving strategies). "
They also had solid client relationships
but were not retirement plan specialists.
Timmerman and his team created a solution
in which RPA acted as a sort of back
office to support fiduciary services.
" The result was the RIA more than
doubled its clients and we learned how to
be a great back office. As I said, we don't
want (or need) need to be the star-we
simply want to help advisors and clients be
better stewards, so their employees achieve
better outcomes. Near the end of last year,
we formalized the program and created
'partnering 2.0' to impact more advisors,
plans and participants. This next step in the
evolution of fiduciary solutions is providing
a scalable solution that includes taking
our 3(38) services, adding a 3(16) fiduciary
partner and pooling our clients for collective
pricing efficiencies. We believe that
this will provide a simplified solution that
the market has been demanding. "
Timmerman concludes by quoting friend
and former colleague-and past 401(k) Specialist
cover subject-Hugh O'Toole, CEO of
data-driven insight provider Innovu, who sits
on RPA's advisory board.
" At our first RPA advisory meeting, he
offered the following insight, 'Get it right
by building the right prototype, get it tight
with great systems and processes, and blow
it out by favorably impacting more organizations
and plan participants.' "
ISSUE 2 2020 | 401kSpecialist.com
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401(k) Specialist Issue 2 - 2020

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