Employers are ultimately held responsible for the investment options offered within their retirement plan. But, ERISA law does allow for that responsibility to be transferred to an independent third-party.
The Security Benefit workplace retirement program transfers your investment fiduciary obligation and the associated liability to Mesirow Financial, an independent investment manager. Mesirow Financial is experienced in interpreting fiduciary requirements and contractually agrees to become the 3(38) fiduciary for your plan.
Features with Mesirow Financial that make a difference:
- Assume Full discretion for selecting, monitoring and (when appropriate) replacing the investment options
- Build a carefully crafted investment line-up appropriate for a retirement plan
- Assume responsibility in the event of certain third-party lawsuits related to the investment management
The Mesirow Financial Police Report
Mesirow Financial continuously monitors all investment options within Workplace ERISA and SecurePoint Retirement program. Each quarter, they provide you a summary of quantitative and qualitative information about the investment options in a report called the Mesirow Financial POLICE Report. This report is a six category watch list, which monitors issues regarding:
Performance — ranks all funds versus their appropriate peers
Organization — tracks personnel and ownership changes
Legal — discloses lawsuits, settlement, or regulatory issues
Investment Policy — identifies changes in strategy and /or operations
Consistent Style — pinpoints all style issues based on historical returns
Expenses — provides a fee comparison to a peer group average to assess the competitiveness
Legal Protection
As clearly defined in the Plan Sponsor agreement, Mesirow Financial will perform and defend its duties and obligations with respect to investment option selection and monitoring in compliance with ERISA. This agreement protects the sponsor from certain third-part lawsuits arising from issues regarding investment option selection and monitoring.