Our 401(k) clients are typically professional offices with 5-15 professionals and plan assets greater than $1,000,000. To find out more about our 401(k) offering, please click on the links below.
- Why Work With Tempo
- Assuring Compliance (Fiduciary Responsibility)
- Participant Education and Guidance
- Hands on Service and Administration
- Investment Options
- Pricing
Why Work With Tempo
As a plan sponsor it is your responsibility to provide the best retirement plan you can for your company’s employees. You must consider many factors to ensure compliance with relevant ERISA laws and to get the most for your money.
At Tempo Financial Advisors we have designed a 401(k) Plan that takes the weight of this responsibility off your back and gives you peace of mind. Our plan provides:
- Assurances that your plan will always be in compliance.
- Participant education.
- Hands-on service.
- Year-round access to professional investment advice via e-mail or phone.
- Professionally managed accounts options at no additional cost.
Assuring Compliance (Fiduciary Responsibility)
Many business owners don’t have the time, expertise, or interest needed to keep their plan in compliance, nor do they want the responsibility and risk. By hiring Tempo you will minimize your fiduciary exposure because Tempo will act as a co-fiduciary and work to ensure all requirements are met.
As a plan sponsor you are a fiduciary. Meeting fiduciary standards requires constant vigilance on your part.
The Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) governs 401(k) plans and is a complex and constantly evolving area. Staying on top of and complying with ERISA regulations can be a daunting task.
As a fiduciary you must ensure that your plan is run in accordance with all ERISA requirements, which include up to date plan documents, operational efficiency, accurate and timely reporting, and appropriate investment options. The consequences of failing to meet these requirements could be costly. Should the IRS or Department of Labor determine there is a problem (called a “finding”) your business could be fined. Even worse, should the plan be sued the Trustees are personally liable.
Participant Education and Guidance
Deciding how to invest your 401(k) is one of the most important investment decisions you will ever make. Your retirement depends on it! Most providers offer little or no guidance to participants up front, and no guidance on an on-going basis. Tempo will:
- Present an in-person annual education meeting to plan participants.
- Publish a booklet tailored to your organization describing 401(k) details as well as investment options.
- Provide Tempo’s quarterly newsletter to participants.
- Give all participants year round access to advice from an investment professional via phone or e-mail.
Hands-on Service and Administration
To make your job easier you need to know that someone is there every day to answer your questions and meet your service needs. Not just anyone, but a knowledgeable professional whom you trust and who knows you and your plan details. With a Tempo 401(k) you will have a team working for you. Tempo is primarily responsible for investment selection and monitoring, managed account options, education sessions, and ongoing participant service and support.
Tempo will also research and select a preferred vendor that will serve as the plan’s administrator, trustee and/or custodian. This vendor will ensure that the plan and plan documents remain compliant with all ERISA regulations, provide comprehensive trust, custodial, and back office services, and access to state-of-the-art technology so that the plan runs smoothly on a day to day basis. These services include:
- Dedicated relationship manager
- Participant call center
- Loan administration
- Secure website
- Telephone Voice Response Unit (VRU)
- Payroll deductions
- Quarterly statements
- Signature-ready IRS Form 5500 preparation
- Initial plan design and on-going updates
- Compliance testing/Tax reporting
Investment Options
A primary responsibility of retirement plan sponsors is to make available a diverse array of investment choices. Unfortunately many providers offer a limited selection of funds featuring “captive” products that economically benefit the provider. They leave you on your own to select which funds you will make available to participants, fail to monitor the funds on an on-going basis, and seem to disappear after the sale.
At Tempo we take a vastly different approach. We provide a wide array of investment choices which we hand pick after careful analysis. We then monitor those choices periodically and make changes as deemed necessary. In the process we eliminate all economic conflicts of interest.
- Tempo takes responsibility for selecting the list of core funds. As many as 30 choices can be made available to participants. The choices are selected from an extensive list of thousands of funds and chosen without economic bias and with great care to provide:
- A diversified set of funds
- Funds that are attractive relative to peers
- Funds that are below average cost relative to peers
- A variety of index funds
- On an ongoing basis Tempo will monitor all of the core funds to ensure that they continue to meet or exceed suitability criteria. Changes will be made as deemed appropriate.
- Participants may elect to invest in Tempo Financial Advisors’ professionally managed accounts at no additional cost:
- Tempo Lifestyle Strategy
- Tempo Dynamic Income Strategy
- Tempo Dynamic Growth Strategy
Please see the managed account options below for more information on these Tempo offerings.
Managed Account Options
In addition to a carefully selected, diversified line-up of core mutual funds from which participants may choose, the sponsors of the 401(k) may also elect to make available any or all of the following Tempo Financial Advisors’ professionally managed accounts at no additional cost to the firm or to participants.
Tempo Lifestyle Portfolio
Tempo Financial Advisors designs a custom portfolio featuring a diversified asset mix deemed appropriate for moderate 401(k) investors with a long term time horizon. While Tempo has discretion to deviate from a static asset allocation, the “neutral” allocation will be 75% equities (including US equity and international equity) and 25% fixed income (Bonds).
What separates a Tempo Lifestyle Portfolio from a traditional balanced or life cycle fund is that the asset class mix will evolve over time in response to current economic and market conditions. A Tempo Lifestyle Portfolio can be considered the core long-term portion of your investments, and as such accounts remain fully invested at all times. The goal of a Tempo Lifestyle portfolio is to maximize returns for each level of risk.
Tempo Multi-Asset Dynamic Income Strategy
Utilizing a proprietary algorithm, the Tempo Multi-Asset Dynamic Income Strategy will allocate accounts among various income producing and low volatility asset classes including fixed income (high yield bonds, intermediate term bonds, inflation-linked bonds, emerging market bonds, convertible bonds, etc), income oriented equity (utilities, REITs), and a variety of alternative funds. Tempo Financial Advisors rebalances portfolios periodically in accordance with this algorithm. The goal is to generate consistent returns greater than money markets and CDs.
Tempo Multi-Asset Dynamic Growth Strategy
Utilizing a proprietary algorithm, the Tempo Multi-Asset Dynamic Growth Strategy will allocate accounts among all asset classes (US equity, international equity, equity sectors, fixed income, and alternative funds). Tempo Financial Advisors rebalances portfolios periodically in accordance with this algorithm. The goal is to generate consistent “equity-like” returns with greatly reduced risk.
Pricing
It can be difficult or even impossible to determine exactly what your plan is costing you, whom you are paying, what you are paying for, and what incentives and conflicts of interests may exist in your provider’s selection of vendors and investments.
At Tempo the pricing is transparent and easily understood. Tempo has no conflict in selecting the custodian, administrator, or investments because we are not compensated by anyone other than you.
Please contact us for further details on pricing.
