Question 1

What does PointOak Retirement Advisors do?

Accepted Answer

PointOak is an independent retirement plan consulting firm. We specialize in helping plan sponsors manage, optimize, and oversee their workplace retirement plans — including 401(k), 403(b), 457, and pension plans. Our services span fiduciary support, investment analysis, fee benchmarking, plan design consulting, and participant education.

Question 2

Is PointOak a fiduciary?

Accepted Answer

Yes. PointOak serves as an ERISA §3(21) co-fiduciary and can also serve as a §3(38) discretionary investment manager. As a fiduciary, we are legally required to act in the best interest of plan participants when providing investment recommendations.

Question 3

What types of retirement plans does PointOak work with?

Accepted Answer

We work with defined contribution plans (401(k), 403(b), 457), defined benefit/pension plans, cash balance plans, and hybrid arrangements. Our clients range from organizations with $5 million to over $1 billion in plan assets.

Question 4

Where is PointOak located? Do you work with clients outside of Virginia?

Accepted Answer

Our headquarters are in McLean, Virginia, but we serve clients nationwide. Our consulting model works effectively with in-person meetings, virtual conferences, and hybrid arrangements.

Question 5

What is a §3(21) fiduciary?

Accepted Answer

An ERISA §3(21) fiduciary is a co-fiduciary advisor who provides investment recommendations to the plan's fiduciary committee. The committee retains final decision-making authority, while the §3(21) advisor shares fiduciary responsibility for the recommendations they provide.

Question 6

What is a §3(38) fiduciary?

Accepted Answer

An ERISA §3(38) investment manager takes on full discretionary authority over plan investments. This means the §3(38) fiduciary — not the plan committee — makes the final decisions about which investments to include, remove, or replace in the plan's lineup.

Question 7

Which fiduciary model is right for our plan?

Accepted Answer

It depends on your committee's experience, bandwidth, and comfort level with investment decisions. A §3(21) arrangement is appropriate when your committee wants professional guidance but prefers to make the final call. A §3(38) arrangement works well when the committee wants to delegate investment selection entirely to a specialist.

Question 8

How does PointOak help reduce our fiduciary liability?

Accepted Answer

We document every step of the investment review process, maintain a clear paper trail for all recommendations, provide quarterly fiduciary reports, and ensure your Investment Policy Statement is followed consistently. This documentation is your best defense in the event of a DOL audit or participant lawsuit.

Question 9

How does PointOak evaluate investments in our plan?

Accepted Answer

We use a quantitative and qualitative scoring system that evaluates each fund across multiple criteria: performance relative to benchmarks and peer groups, expense ratios, risk-adjusted returns, manager tenure, and fund consistency. We evaluate over $120 billion in retirement plan assets quarterly.

Question 10

What happens if a fund in our plan underperforms?

Accepted Answer

Underperforming funds are placed on a Watch List with specific criteria for review. If improvement targets aren't met within a defined timeline (typically 2-4 quarters), we recommend a replacement. The process is documented and follows your plan's Investment Policy Statement.

Question 11

Does PointOak recommend proprietary investment products?

Accepted Answer

No. PointOak is fully independent. We have no proprietary funds, no revenue-sharing arrangements, and no financial incentives tied to any investment product. Our recommendations are based solely on what's best for your participants.

Question 12

How do I know if my plan's fees are reasonable?

Accepted Answer

PointOak conducts detailed fee benchmarking studies that compare your plan's total costs — including recordkeeping, investment management, and advisory fees — against comparable plans in our database. We express fees in both basis points and per-participant dollar amounts so the comparison is clear and actionable.

Question 13

How often should we benchmark our plan fees?

Accepted Answer

ERISA requires fiduciaries to ensure plan fees are reasonable, and best practice is to conduct a formal benchmarking study every 2-3 years, or whenever you're considering a change in service providers. PointOak provides ongoing fee monitoring as part of our standard consulting engagement.

Question 14

What is included in a PointOak fee benchmarking report?

Accepted Answer

Our reports cover recordkeeper fees, investment management expenses, advisory costs, and any ancillary charges. We benchmark against peer plans of similar size and complexity, and provide a summary with clear action items — including negotiation strategies if fees are above market.

Question 15

What kind of employee education does PointOak provide?

Accepted Answer

We offer a full range of participant education programs, including enrollment campaigns, investment basics workshops, retirement readiness assessments, and one-on-one financial wellness sessions. Programs are customized to your workforce demographics and can be delivered in person, virtually, or as a hybrid.

Question 16

Can PointOak help improve our plan participation rates?

Accepted Answer

Absolutely. We analyze your current participation data, identify gaps, and design targeted communication and education strategies. Common recommendations include automatic enrollment, re-enrollment campaigns, match optimization messaging, and targeted outreach to under-participating demographics.

Question 17

How does the engagement process begin?

Accepted Answer

It starts with a discovery conversation — typically 30-45 minutes — where we learn about your plan, your current challenges, and your goals. From there, we provide a proposal outlining our recommended scope of services, timeline, and fees. There's no cost or obligation for the initial conversation.

Question 18

How long does it take to onboard a new client?

Accepted Answer

Typical onboarding takes 30-60 days, depending on the complexity of your plan and how quickly we can gather the necessary documents and data. During onboarding, we conduct an initial plan assessment, establish your Investment Policy Statement, and set up recurring monitoring.

Question 19

What makes PointOak different from other retirement plan consultants?

Accepted Answer

Three things: specialization, independence, and documentation. Over 90% of our revenue comes from retirement plan consulting — we're not a generalist wealth management firm that does plan consulting on the side. We have zero conflicts of interest. And we maintain rigorous documentation for every recommendation, creating a clear fiduciary audit trail.

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