Investment Manager Evaluation for Retirement Plans
You're responsible for selecting and monitoring investment managers, but the maze of DOL regulations and 40,000+ mutual funds makes it overwhelming. PointOak specializes exclusively in retirement plans, applying institutional-grade analytics and acting as your named fiduciary to protect you from liability while ensuring your participants have access to prudent investment options.
Named fiduciary status under ERISA
Evaluating $120B+ in assets quarterly
Retirement plan specialists since day one
Why Choose Us for Investment Manager Evaluation?
Excessive-fee lawsuits against plan sponsors rose 35% in 2024, and the DOL's expanded fiduciary definition increases your compliance obligations. PointOak has been registered and acting as a fiduciary since our first day in practice. We generate over 90% of our revenue from corporate retirement plans, which means we're fully dedicated to helping you achieve successful retirement outcomes for your employees.
What sets us apart is our proprietary 10-point pass/fail scoring system that evaluates asset managers and investment managers across multiple factors including team depth, investment strategy consistency, and manager performance. We can act as either a 3(21) co-fiduciary providing recommendations or a 3(38) investment manager with full discretionary authority.
Our Investment Manager Evaluation Services
Investment Policy Statement Development
Your Investment Policy Statement serves as the foundation for all investment decisions and demonstrates fiduciary prudence. We draft comprehensive IPS documents that outline your plan's investment objectives, asset class guidelines, risk tolerance parameters, and manager selection criteria aligned with your organizational goals and participant demographics.
Initial Investment Lineup Evaluation
We conduct a comprehensive assessment of your existing investment options to identify opportunities for improvement across all asset classes. Our evaluation examines manager performance relative to appropriate benchmarks, investment management fees compared to peer groups, investment team tenure and stability, investment style consistency, and alignment with your Investment Policy Statement.
Quarterly Investment Monitoring
Ongoing monitoring is essential to fulfilling your fiduciary duty and ensuring investment managers continue to execute as expected under changing market conditions. We apply our proprietary 10-point pass/fail scoring system to evaluate over $120 billion in retirement plan assets every quarter, measuring fund performance across multiple factors including risk-adjusted returns, style consistency, and expense ratios.
Investment Fee & Share Class Review
Investment management fees directly impact participant retirement outcomes, and ERISA requires plan fiduciaries to ensure expenses are reasonable. We analyze your investment lineup's expense ratios and determine whether you're using the most appropriate share classes available on your recordkeeping platform.
Fund Replacement Recommendations
When our evaluation process identifies underperforming or inappropriate funds, we provide specific guidance on replacement options. Our recommendations consider not just past performance but also the fund's investment strategy, management team stability, fee structure, portfolio construction methodology, and fit within your overall lineup across multiple asset classes.
Annual Investment Committee Meeting
Your investment committee needs regular education and review to fulfill fiduciary responsibilities effectively. We conduct annual meetings to review our analysis and recommendations, discuss portfolio construction and asset allocation, explain market conditions affecting fund performance, and address committee member questions about investment due diligence and the manager selection process.
Common Investment Manager Evaluation Challenges
| Challenge | What It Looks Like | How We Help |
|---|---|---|
| Overwhelming fiduciary liability exposure | Excessive-fee lawsuits rose 35% in 2024, and the DOL's expanded fiduciary definition creates new compliance obligations for plan sponsors selecting investment managers and asset managers. | We act as your 3(21) co-fiduciary or 3(38) investment manager, assuming direct liability for investment advice or decisions and protecting you through documented diligence processes. |
| Lack of investment expertise | Investment committees often include HR professionals and executives without institutional investment backgrounds tasked with evaluating 40,000+ mutual funds across multiple asset classes and determining the best managers for participants. | Our retirement plan specialists apply institutional measurement techniques developed through evaluating $120 billion in assets quarterly, translating complex analysis into clear recommendations your team can understand. |
| Time drain of ongoing monitoring | ERISA requires quarterly investment monitoring to ensure managers execute as expected, but plan sponsors must balance this responsibility with their primary job functions and business operations. | We handle the entire monitoring process using our proprietary 10-point scoring system, delivering actionable quarterly reports that identify issues before they impact participant outcomes and long-term success. |
| Underperforming investment managers | Research shows plan sponsors hire managers after strong performance, but post-hiring returns are typically indistinguishable from zero as return-chasing behavior fails to deliver results and future results disappoint expectations. | Our evaluation methodology focuses on investment process consistency, team stability, and risk management rather than recent returns, helping you avoid performance-chasing mistakes and select one manager at a time deliberately. |
| Generic cookie-cutter recommendations | Many advisors apply the same investment lineup to every plan, regardless of participant demographics, creating misalignment between fund offerings and actual workforce needs across different investment portfolios. | We customize investment analysis to your specific plan characteristics, considering factors like participant age distribution, salary levels, risk tolerance, and financial sophistication to build appropriate menus. |
What To Expect - Our Process
Initial Consultation and Discovery
You schedule a consultation to discuss your current plan structure and investment concerns. We learn about your investment committee's composition, your existing advisor relationships, and specific challenges you're facing. This discovery helps us tailor our evaluation approach to your unique situation and investment objectives.
Comprehensive Investment Analysis
Our team conducts a thorough evaluation of your investment lineup using our 10-point scoring methodology combining quantitative analysis and qualitative analysis. We examine manager performance, investment management fees, team depth, investment strategy consistency, and alignment with your Investment Policy Statement. You receive a detailed report identifying strengths, weaknesses, and specific opportunities for improvement across your investment portfolios.
Committee Presentation and Recommendations
We present our findings to your investment committee with clear, actionable recommendations based on our comprehensive due diligence processes. You review the analysis, ask questions, and make informed decisions about fund changes or manager replacements. We provide the documentation and rationale your committee needs to demonstrate fiduciary prudence without pressure or rushed timelines.
Implementation and Ongoing Monitoring
After you approve changes, we coordinate with your recordkeeper to implement fund replacements and share class optimizations. Our quarterly monitoring continues to evaluate your lineup using the same rigorous methodology. You stay informed through regular reports and annual committee meetings, with ongoing support from your dedicated advisor who understands your plan's unique needs.
About PointOak Retirement Advisors
PointOak Retirement Advisors is an independent retirement plan consulting firm headquartered in McLean, Virginia, serving plan sponsors nationwide. The firm generates over 90% of its revenue from corporate retirement plans and acts as a 3(21) or 3(38) named fiduciary under ERISA with every client. PointOak evaluates over $120 billion in retirement plan assets quarterly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Investment manager evaluation fees vary based on plan size and service scope. As a 3(21) investment advisor, we provide advisory services where you retain decision authority. As a 3(38) investment manager, we assume discretionary control over fund selection and monitoring. We offer transparent pricing with no hidden fees or revenue sharing arrangements. Contact us for a customized proposal based on your plan assets and participant count.
Three things set us apart. First, we generate over 90% of our revenue from corporate retirement plans, making us true specialists rather than generalists. Second, all our advisors act as named fiduciaries under ERISA, providing direct liability protection you won't get from consultants. Third, our proprietary 10-point scoring system evaluates $120 billion in retirement plan assets quarterly, giving us unique perspective on manager performance and industry trends that supports better decision-making for our clients.
A 3(21) co-fiduciary provides investment recommendations through operational due diligence and shares liability, but your committee retains final decision-making authority and responsibility. A 3(38) investment manager assumes full discretionary control over fund selection and monitoring, limiting your liability to selecting and monitoring the manager itself. Choose 3(21) if your committee wants to stay involved in investment decisions. Choose 3(38) if you want to outsource the responsibility completely while focusing on your core business.
Initial investment lineup evaluation typically takes two to three weeks from data receipt to final report delivery. We gather information about your current funds, run our analysis using both quantitative analysis and qualitative analysis methods, and prepare recommendations for your investment committee. Quarterly monitoring is ongoing once established. Implementation timelines for fund changes depend on your recordkeeper's processes but usually complete within 30 days of committee approval.
Warning signs include funds consistently underperforming their benchmarks, expense ratios higher than peer averages, frequent manager turnover at fund companies, investment strategy drift from stated objectives, or participant complaints about limited options. If your committee hasn't conducted a comprehensive review in three or more years, you're likely overdue. Many plan sponsors also discover issues when preparing for DOL audits or during provider benchmarking. Our initial evaluation identifies specific opportunities for enhancement.
Quantitative analysis examines measurable data like risk-adjusted returns, expense ratios, tracking error, and Sharpe ratios to assess fund performance numerically across different asset classes and market conditions. Qualitative analysis evaluates non-numeric factors like investment team depth, firm stability, investment philosophy consistency, portfolio construction methodology, and the overall investment approach. Both are essential for comprehensive investment manager evaluation. We combine sophisticated quantitative measurement with qualitative due diligence to provide complete assessments.
Investment advisory services offered through PointOak Retirement Advisors, LLC. This site is published for residents of the United States only. PointOak Retirement Advisors, LLC does not provide tax or legal advice.
Ready to Simplify Your Financial Life?
Schedule a complimentary consultation to discuss your financial goals and how we can help. There's no cost for the initial meeting. No obligation. Just a conversation to see if we're the right fit for your needs.
What To Expect
Our initial consultation typically lasts 30–45 minutes. We'll discuss your goals, current situation, and how we might work together. Come prepared with questions.