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Corporate Plan Services
Bragg Financial Advisors has served the corporate plan retirement community for over 35 years. Our clients include medical groups, manufacturing companies, attorneys and engineers; all of whom have the same basic objective of sponsoring a successful retirement plan for their employees. At Bragg Financial Advisors, we work closely with you to design, implement and maintain your qualified plan.
Specifically, Bragg Financial offers the following services to our corporate plan clients:
- Consult with you regarding plan design
- Conduct an RFP search for appropriate Plan Service Providers
- Prepare the Investment Policy Statement
- Conduct a search for appropriate investment management
- Annually conduct a full Due Diligence of all investment options
- Fully document all plan procedures and processes
- Serve as Co-Fiduciary with regard to ERISA requirements related to investment manager selection and monitoring
- Prepare signature ready documents
As a direct result of today’s changing marketplace and to better serve the needs of Plan Sponsors, Bragg Financial Advisors offers custom designed solutions at both the Plan Level and Participant Level that satisfy the fiduciary requirements as set forth by ERISA legislation. Below you will find more information about our specific services.
The Bragg Financial Advisors Team Approach
Bragg Financial Advisors employs a team of specialists dedicated to their specific field of study. The representatives of Bragg Financial Advisors have earned the following designations: MBA from Wake Forest University, Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), Certified Financial Planner (CFP) and Certified Public Accountant (CPA).
The Principals of Bragg Financial Advisors own and control our independent Broker-Dealer and Investment Advisory Firm. This means we have no proprietary products and are free from conflicts of interest that burden other firms. We begin the client consulting process without preconceived ideas or predetermined products or services. Back to Top
Plan Level Services
As a Plan Sponsor, you are held to the highest standards of care and due diligence. As clearly defined by the Employee Retirement Security Act (ERISA) of 1974, you have certain duties and responsibilities to the Plan and to your Participants. Failure to comply with the standards set forth by ERISA could result in personal fines, penalties, plan disqualification and even prison time. The responsibilities of Plan Sponsors in this regard are substantial, but manageable through a combination of good information, exercising prudence and having clear written processes. Bragg Financial can help. Back to Top
Fiduciary Investment Requirements
Bragg Financial Advisors understands the requirements of ERISA and partners with their clients in carrying out their fiduciary duties. Specifically regarding plan investment decisions, Bragg Financial Advisors provides the following services:
- Prepare the Investment Policy Statement- An Investment Policy Statement (IPS) is a written document that outlines plan investment objectives, asset allocation strategy, risk tolerance, and the policies that will govern investment selection, monitoring and the processes to replace investment options.
- Conduct an Investment Manger Search- Bragg Financial will conduct a search of the investment management universe for funds that meet the requirements set forth in the IPS. Search criteria include, but are not limited to; performance as measured over meaningful periods of time, management philosophy, tenure and process, style adherence, expenses and risk statistics.
- Investment Monitoring- After the investment funds are selected, ERISA requires that they be closely monitored. Annually, Bragg Financial Advisors will perform a full Due Diligence Review of all funds using the same specific criteria as in the search process. In addition, Bragg Financial monitors the fund menu on a constant basis to stay fully abreast of any issues that may arise that could affect fund performance.
- Documentation- The end result of the Due Diligence Review is a written document that clearly shows the process used to monitor the investment options. The Review process scores each fund option and the results show each fund to be Satisfactory, or placed on Watch due to certain specific factors or Replaced with a more appropriate fund.
- Co-Fiduciary Services: Bragg Financial will serve as a Co-Fiduciary to the Plan with regard to the selection and ongoing monitoring of the plan investment options. We will prepare the IPS, conduct a search for appropriate investment options, monitor the fund menu and report investment results and document all processes.
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Record Keeping and Compliance Administration
In addition to Investment Selection and Monitoring, Bragg Financial Advisors provides the following services at the Plan Sponsor Level:
- Consult on Plan Design- With the passage of the EGTTRA Tax Bill of 2001 and the recent Pension Protection Act of 2006, Plan Sponsors now have a tremendous amount of Plan Design alternatives to consider. Bragg Financial will assist Plan Sponsors in identifying goals and objectives and recommending an appropriate Plan Design to meet them.
- Conduct a Provider Search for Record Keeper and Compliance Administrator- Bragg Financial Advisors will conduct a comprehensive Request For Proposal (RFP) search to identify those providers most capable of serving your plan given the plan design, employee demographics, and plan complexity. In addition, we will perform a comparative analysis of selected providers, schedule provider presentations, and negotiate plan pricing alternatives.
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Participant Level Services
Bragg Financial Advisors can also play a significant role with Plan Participants. The success of a Plan is most often measured by participant satisfaction. Numerous studies have shown that participants are more satisfied when they are better educated about how the Plan works and benefits them. Bragg Financial provides the following services for Plan Participants:
- Group Investment Education Meetings- Bragg Financial Advisors spends a great deal of time in group sessions to educate participants about stock, bonds and mutual funds and to help them understand the risk/reward relationship.
- Risk Tolerance Quiz- At the conclusion of the investment education program, participants are given a Risk Tolerance Quiz that assists them in better understanding their personal comfort level with risk. The Risk Tolerance Quiz is signed, dated and collected and kept as part of the enrollment process.
- Asset Allocation Models- Participants are given Asset Allocation Models that correspond to their Risk Tolerance Quiz. These models are based on the tenets of Modern Portfolio Theory, a body of academic research that advocates diversifying across multiple asset classes. Doing so has been proven to reduce volatility and have a smoothing affect on returns.
- Individual Consultation- At the conclusion of the group education meetings, each participant will have an individual enrollment consultation. Although a very time consuming process on our part, it has been proven to be of great value in helping participants make good decisions and stick with them. Pre-retirement counseling is available as well to participants as they reach retirement age.
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