401k / Retirement Plans
Creating A Customized Solution
Delegating retirement plan responsibilities so you can focus on your core business.
When properly structured, a retirement plan can be a very powerful tool for recruiting, retaining, and rewarding talented employees. A retirement plan can be used to convert taxable profits (that would otherwise be paid out as compensation and/or dividends) to tax-deferred retirement plan contributions.
In working with retirement plan clients, Johnston Investment Counsel first gains an understanding of your business’s characteristics as well as the goals and objectives you have for your retirement plan. Perhaps you want to defer more money, target key employees, or simply want to know the cost of the plan.
Whatever your goals, Johnston Investment Counsel will review your existing retirement plan and focus on areas where improvements can be made. Most clients use Johnston Investment Counsel as the “point person” with respect to retirement plan activities. We serve as investment advisor and will manage and coordinate any other service providers. We believe retirement plans should have the following attributes
- Transparency with respect to fees and relationships.
- Total and clear fee disclosure to both plan sponsor and participants.
- A plan design that automatically enrolls employs and increases their deferral rate each year.
- Investment advisors that acknowledge their fiduciary status.
- The use of an investment policy statement.
- A true open architecture investment selection including best-of-breed mutual funds, institutional share classes, and/or index funds.
- Several pre-defined portfolios, with different risk attributes for employees that want a “do it for me” approach. These portfolios could either be managed on an ongoing basis or periodically re-balanced.
- Ongoing participant communication with respect to performance as well as general financial planning topics.
- Ongoing reports that review performance, plan demographics, and fees.
