Hidden fees. Missed opportunities. On-hold music. Unlicensed investment advice. There is a lot more than meets the eye when it comes to your 401(k) plan. Is your retirement gathering dust, or is it being maximized?
Ask yourself this: What if your organization spent as much time evaluating and managing your retirement plan as they did your health insurance policy? What if you had a dedicated team that delivered real-time, tailored investment advice — without the high hidden fees of other firms? How much faster could you meet your financial goals?
The team at Novus Advisors wants you to know that you have options. “We see it all the time: 401(k) participants are provided with inadequate, high-cost investment options, and no guidance on where to start,” says Jennifer Belshe, principal. “Historically, people with substantially more wealth have been offered exclusive access to more options and investment strategies than those starting out with less. At Novus Advisors, we want to change that by providing a more robust retirement plan structure, quality investment options and personalized investment advice to all retirement plan participants, regardless of wealth.”
Right away, the Novus team asks important questions that uncover troublesome and often-overlooked details. “We run into a lot of competitors that have hidden fees and revenue sharing in their retirement plans. Participants do not see these fees deducted on their statement because the fees come out of the performance of their funds, so participants are left thinking, ‘this is normal, or my 401(k) is free,’ when it is not,” explains Belshe. “Another common problem is that their current service provider or employer is not offering enough quality investment options to allow a participant to appropriately diversify their retirement account, based on their risk-tolerance and investment goals.”
Something uncommon about Novus Advisors is the level of service they provide — and the responsibility they take on. “We offer full fiduciary support for retirement plans,” confirms Belshe. “Novus Advisors is a registered investment advisor (RIA) and ERISA 3(38) investment manager. We have a fiduciary duty to our clients and are obligated to act in every client’s best interest, and that’s important. Many firms or advisory groups have very limited experience managing retirement plans, or they may provide high-level reporting to the business owner or management team, but do not take on full fiduciary responsibility associated with selecting investments, providing participant education, giving personal advice, or answering phone calls directly from retirement plan participants. That’s where our team of experts at Novus Advisors comes in.”
Chris Connelly, principal, adds perspective. “We deal with 401(k) plans across the country, with thousands of participants, and what we offer is very different. Often, with these large providers, all you have is a toll-free number where you’ll get general information from someone who is not licensed — and that’s if they actually call you back within 24 hours.”
And the perks include valuable tools. “We send regular market reviews, articles and helpful educational resources to all of our plan participants; and we also include personalized plan information and suggested investment allocations based on risk tolerance,” says Belshe.
Here’s the million-dollar question: Novus Advisors does not receive hidden fees, and they proactively keep retirement plan costs low for participants and employers. So, what’s their incentive? “We have seen what happens when people do not proactively manage their 401(k) accounts — and we want to directly influence that,” says Connelly. “We’re here to help individuals realize that they can do more right now to set themselves up for a better future by advising and working with them every step of the way.”
DISCLOSURES:Asset Allocation does not guarantee a profit or protect against a loss in a declining market. It is a method used to help manage investment risk.
