Topic · Updated
Retirement plan advisors
Advisors who serve workplace retirement plans, and the firms consolidating that business.
Retirement plan advisors work with employers that sponsor 401(k), 403(b) and similar plans. They help plan sponsors choose and monitor investments, benchmark fees, select recordkeepers and educate employees, often acting as fiduciaries under ERISA, the federal law that governs most private-sector retirement plans.
The business is consolidating. Specialist retirement plan firms have been acquired by RIA aggregators, and many firms now pair plan advice with wealth management for plan participants, a strategy that has drawn attention to how such cross-selling is disclosed and managed.
Financial ADVSR covers the retirement plan advisory business, the recordkeepers and platforms behind it, and the deals reshaping it.
From the Newsroom
Latest on retirement plan advisors
401k Specialist
Vanguard Launches New Target Retirement Growth TrustsWealthManagement.com
401(k) Real Talk Episode 213: October 21, 2026401k Specialist
401(k) Plans Rival Healthcare as Top Employee Benefit401k Specialist
Betterment Adds Mega Backdoor Roth to Solo 401(k) Plans401k Specialist
Coping With ‘Retirement Drift’ Among Job-Changing WorkersWealthManagement.com
Butterfly Effect of State Mandates on 401(k) Plans
Questions
What does a 401(k) advisor do?
A retirement plan advisor helps employers select and monitor plan investments, benchmark fees and service providers, document fiduciary decisions and educate participants. Many also offer one-on-one advice to employees.
What is ERISA?
The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, the federal law that sets standards for most private-sector retirement and health plans, including fiduciary duties for those who manage plans and plan assets.
What is a 3(21) versus a 3(38) fiduciary?
The terms come from ERISA’s definitions. A 3(21) advisor gives investment recommendations while the plan sponsor keeps final decision-making authority. A 3(38) investment manager takes discretion over plan investments and the related fiduciary responsibility for those decisions.
What is a pooled employer plan?
A pooled employer plan, created by the SECURE Act of 2019, lets unrelated employers join a single 401(k) plan run by a pooled plan provider, sharing administration and some fiduciary duties.