Advisers need to be 401(k) experts
As automatic features continue to propel 401(k) plans, advisers need to become retirement specialists to add value to the plan.
As automatic features continue to propel 401(k) plans, advisers need to become retirement specialists to add value to the plan, , said Jamie Worrell, president of GPS Investment Advisors in Providence, Rhode Island.
The role of the adviser has experienced a seismic shift compared to past, he said.
He and other advisers discussed this issue today at the Center for Due Diligence conference in Scottsdale, Ariz.
“There’s never been a greater opportunity than today for a retirement specialist plan adviser,” he said.
“Today’s adviser is more of a service-oriented adviser.”
In the past, advisers focused mostly on transaction-based opportunities and now advisers need to work more closely with key officials in the workplace.
“Today’s advisers must work in the boardroom with trustees structurally on top-down strategy consulting plan design as opposed to the work we have always done in the trenches with participants,” Mr. Worrell said.
Advisers need to be experts in the [401(k)] field, agreed Thomas Scalici, managing director of Cornerstone Advisors Asset Management Inc. in Bethlehem, Pa.
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