Jason and Alex talked about our proprietary 401(k) solution called Future Ready 401(k), which is for an any person participating in a 401(k) plan. This 401(k) retirement solution would bring benefits to the participants/employees, human resources department managers, corporate owners, controllers, directors of finance, etc. They invite listeners to send their questions to jason@financialdetox.com or call 877-707-8889.Alex asked Jason what prompted him to want to create a better 401(k) experience for individuals. They explained that the Future Ready 401(k) experience is one in which all aspects of the 401(k) are bundled into one solution, so it is structed as transparent as possible and designed to make life easier for all parties involved in the 401(k) plan and corresponding processes. Jason also explained that he has been in business for about 22 years and has helped participants with all aspects of their 401(k) plans. This includes the investment selection, retirement education, contribution specifics, and plan design that is involved with the complexities of a company 401(k) plan. Jason continued to break down the main components of a 401(k) plan. This includes the adviser, who makes sure that the plan is fully on track and the investments are maximized, recordkeeper, where the participant goes to login to view their accounts, and the third-party administrator (TPA), who helps the plan with testing and other aspects of the plan. As a full time 100% Fiduciary firm, we do not receive commissions on ANY of the investments that we put our participants hard earned money into, and a lot of the 401(k) companies thrive on revenue sharing structures.
In the 401(k) world, Jason explained that we navigate and make sure that we have the best, lowest cost investments for company participants to choose from, and that we provide employees with the highest level of transparency that we can. Jason explained that IDA just reached the incredible milestone of reaching $1 Billion in client assets under management (AUM). A major reason our firm has been able to reach this milestone is because we have constantly invested in the latest and greatest technology for our clients to make sure the client experience is in the top tier in the financial industry. Future Ready 401(k) is an all-inclusive solution to make the 401(k) planning/ongoing implementation processes as smooth as possible. Jason explained that IDA’s 401(k) solution is much different than a bundled solution in many ways. This is because those larger plans tend to be concentrated in that companies’ investment fund lineup, there could be several revenue sharing pricing structures in place, and the plan will typically end up with a 1-800 number customer service line where participants do not have a relationship with a lead adviser, leading to the participant being confused on the best path to retirement and improperly educated on the importance of contributing towards their retirement in the 401(k) plan.
Jason and Alex also explained that Future Ready 401(k) provides investment solutions that are based off numerous factors that are tailored to a participant’s specific goals and objectives. This was built based on participants investing and contributing towards specific future goals. This is not just based off a specific retirement year how most target date funds are invested. Jason and the IDA 401(k) team have built a multi-factor approach to 401(k) investing that builds a customized investment portfolio for each participant within a 401(k) plan. This is extremely unique in the industry, and there are very few, if any, advisers that are providing innovative 401(k) solutions to their clients to provide this level of additional value.