MOSS POINT, Miss., June 20, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- With America’s U.S. retirement savings deficit in the trillions of dollars and growing, BidMoni has announced the launch of FiduciaryShield , the first platform that allows retirement plans to quickly and easily solicit bids from dozens of the country’s top retirement plan providers. FiduciaryShield analyzes proposals so plan sponsors and financial advisors can determine the best plan, document the entire process to stay compliant, and automatically monitor plans on a ongoing basis.
FiduciaryShield was designed by retirement plan experts Stephen Daigle and Michael Steffan, who together bring 26 years of problem solving in the financial industry for some of the largest financial institutions in America. CTO Kendall Dixon, president of Dixon Consulting and Development, is also a founder and brings expertise designing technology solutions to improve and simplify the processes of investment firms.
Until now, companies wishing to provide a 401(k) plan needed to contact and request proposals from each individual plan provider they reviewed. This process could take months and the plan sponsor still had no easy way of comparing the resulting bids to ensure that plan costs and features were appropriate and reasonable, both of which are required under ERISA law.
FiduciaryShield enables plans of all sizes to conduct a robust Request for Proposal (RFP) process that can help them lower their costs and reduce the potential liabilities associated with their plans, while improving their plan’s quality. FiduciaryShield pairs users with industry leaders in retirement plan administration to provide these proposals.
“Offering employees the benefit of a retirement plan has become a burden for many plan administrators and business owners—but particularly for plans with less than $25 million in assets,” says BidMoni Co-CEO Michael Steffan, Jr. “We believe these plans should have the same competitive opportunities as larger plans.”
There is no cost to a plan for initiating the RFP process and it takes less than a half-hour to get started. If a plan sponsor selects a new plan provider, it pays FiduciaryShield a nominal fee to monitor the plan and provide ongoing alerts.
FiduciaryShield has partnered with First Ascent Asset Management to work with plan sponsors who want to delegate fiduciary responsibility for the management of plan investments. First Ascent will serve as an independent “3(38) manager.” They accept fiduciary responsibility for selecting and monitoring investment options and can remove the conflicts of interest that have been the cause of many recent lawsuits.
The new platform is available to retirement plans of all sizes, including 401(k), 403(b), and 457(b) plans. Financial advisors can bring this service directly to their clients, even if they are not, themselves, retirement plan experts.
“Throughout our careers, we have worked with school teachers and businesses big and small and we’ve seen the devastating impact that high investment fees and layered service fees can have on retirement savings,” said Founder and Co-CEO Stephen Daigle. “With FiduciaryShield, we are reducing the time and expense of plan sponsorship and helping plan sponsors discharge their legal obligations as a plan fiduciary. Our goal is to create an open and transparent marketplace for companies to create the best plan for their employees. Ultimately, that will help to break down the barriers that have prevented individual participants from adequately saving and investing for retirement.”
About BidMoni BidMoni, Inc. is a Fin-Tech start-up designed to bring transparency and efficiency to employer sponsored retirement plans, including 401(k), 403(b) and 457(b) plans. BidMoni’s flagship product, ‘FiduciaryShield’, provides plan sponsors the opportunity to have industry leading plan providers compete for their business. FiduciaryShield is easy to use, helps satisfy the Department of Labor (DOL) requirement that plans pay only reasonable fees, and ensures that the process is fully documented.
About First Ascent Asset Management First Ascent provides outsourced portfolio management services to financial advisors and their clients. The firm’s founder, Scott MacKillop, is a 40-year veteran of the financial services industry and has been providing asset management services to financial advisors for over 25 years. First Ascent is a registered investment advisor.
For more information please visit Bidmoni.com, or to schedule a demo of the platform, contact Support@Bidmoni.com . Connect on Linked In: Michael Steffan or Michael@Bidmoni.com
