Cobb Retirement Solutions, LLC

Is the grass really greener? Employers are often besieged by vendors who claim their products are the answer to every problem. But will changing vendors solve your problems or simply introduce new ones? Before leaping into the unknown, we recommend a thorough examination of your plan and your current vendor relationship. Adjustments may help you avoid the demands a conversion places on your human resources, accounting, and financial staff – and the frustration of a blackout period. We know what your existing vendor is capable of, and we can help you optimize the service you receive. If a change is in your best interest, we will take your plan to the entire marketplace and match your needs to vendors with products known to provide a solution. Through it all, we’ll help guide and smooth the conversion process. Cobb Retirement Solutions has no short list of preferred vendors that pay a referral fee or commission. Our fee is based on the number of vendors included in ...

Featured Article From Cobb-Retirement

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 20:33:27 GMT

Employers’ Essential Eight: Questions to Ask Your Retirement Provider Each Year

As the 401(k) industry rapidly approaches its 30th birthday, record keepers and investment houses that offer 401(k) products are feeling the aches and pains of maturity.

Read full article

Investment Analysis

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 15:35:56 GMT

Balance. In the investment arena, it is a delicate alignment of performance, risk, and cost.

Ask yourself: How did we end up with our current investment menu? Do we have documentation to support past decisions? What was the methodology used and when was it last reviewed?

As a fiduciary, you are not obligated to be correct in every investment decision you make – an impossible standard. You are, however, required to demonstrate prudence, diligence, and a standard of care that likely exceeds simply using the short list of investments provided by a vendor. This is particularly important when these same investments pay soft-dollar,
undisclosed revenue to that vendor.

We help our clients implement procedures that bring clarity and balance to the investment selection process. Whether the investment is a mutual fund, collective investment trust, or separate account, we have the tools and the expertise to provide a comprehensive analysis customized to
your unique parameters.

To avoid any potential conflicts, we do not offer proprietary products, nor do we custody assets. All work is done strictly on a fee basis.

Revenue Sharing & Fee Analysis

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 15:34:33 GMT

Imagine a world in which your grocery store sells food at the cost charged by the producer with no markup. The grocery makes its profit by working only with producers who agree to rebate back a portion of their price (e.g., the producer who sells a can of peas to the store for 50 cents rebates 10 cents back to the store when it’s sold). It sounds like an odd arrangement, but it’s the foundation of the record-keeping industry. As much as possible, record-keepers eliminate hard-dollar fees by using soft-dollar relationships where the investments rebate a portion of their fees. This creates a powerful incentive for record-keepers to allow access only to those investments that rebate fees, with performance as a secondary consideration. Many firms are reluctant to disclose these soft-dollar arrangements and consider it proprietary information. As a fiduciary, you have the right – and the responsibility – to understand the fees vendors receive while providing service to your plan. We...

Employee Education

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 15:33:56 GMT

Some people are savers; some are spenders. Many of your employees have invested on their own – with varying results. Others are likely investing for the very first time. How can you give these different groups the information they need to make solid investment decisions? We can help. Using customized original materials as well as campaigns from a variety of vendors, we have conducted educational meetings in venues as diverse as board rooms and trucking terminals, oil fields and gambling boats. We know which approaches work and can tailor them to your specific needs. Best of all, unlike many individuals who strive to gain access to your employees, we do not represent proprietary products, nor do we sell investments or insurance. In all facets of our work, we offer unbiased, experienced help. Do your employees understand the difference between a stock and a bond? If you haven’t asked, the answer may very well surprise you. Prior to launching an education...

Qualified Plan Consulting Services

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 15:33:24 GMT

There are many investment advisory firms that work with qualified plans. There are also a number of firms that specialize in other aspects of the business, such as plan administration, employee education or legal and compliance support.

Few firms, however, can deliver solutions that encompass all of these diverse disciplines. Fewer still can provide these solutions without the conflicts-of-interest that plague the benefits and investments industries (see www.sec.gov/news/studies/pensionexamstudy.pdf ).

If you are an employer that sponsors a 401(a), 401(k), 403(b) or defined benefit plan, you will likely encounter a number of different issues with your plan(s) in any given year. We have seen these same issues with other clients, and we use this knowledge and experience to help our clients.

A quick review of our case studies will demonstrate our diverse capabilities. We know how to drill down to the details that may confound you. We also know when it is appropriate to take a step back and look at the big picture.

While our expertise is diverse within the qualified retirement plan universe, we have deliberately narrowed our focus to this area. The only way to provide the best solutions for our clientelle is to avoid the sale of ancillary products or other services that would cloud our priorities and diminish our ability.

We do not provide tax or legal advice, Rather, we assist clients in understanding the information provided by the accountants, legal staff or actuary to the plan, and determining the appropriate action steps.

Research Tools

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 16:38:47 GMT

This section provides a variety of links to resources ranging from Government Agencies and Financial calculators to help you and your employees: Government Agencies Financial Calculators Retirement Plan Research Vendors/Recordkeepers for Retirement Plans

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 16:35:19 GMT

Case Study A Our Client is a publicly-traded corporation headquartered in Texas that sponsors a 401(k) plan for its employees. We have been privileged to work for this client since 2001. Initial Analysis The Client has retained us twice in the past six years to evaluate its bundled-service relationship for the 401(k) plan (record keeping, investment management and trustee/custodial services). The original incumbent provider, Vendor X, had provided services for the Client for nearly a decade without any outside oversight of its fees, performance or practices. Further, employee education was provided sporadically by the vendor, but was not tailored to any specific program or goal. We conducted a complete analysis of all relevant aspects of Vendor X’s services and discovered numerous errors within the administration and structure of the Plan – not the least of which was a failure to elect a ‘top 20% election’ for discrimination testing. This simple administrative oversight would...

Services

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 16:30:37 GMT

Unbiased advice Choosing the right qualified retirement plan affects more than your company’s bottom line. It affects lives, futures and dreams. You need accurate, expert advice based solely on your unique needs and best interests. But in a world of parent companies, affiliate relationships and sales commissions, where can you find wholly objective information? Cobb Retirement Solutions is different. We are an independent, fee-only firm registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, specializing in qualified retirement plan analysis and oversight. We neither accept nor pay commissions or finder’s fees. We do not manage the assets of company executives or other plan participants. We do not sell proprietary insurance plans or other investment products – nor are we affiliated with anyone who does. And we annually initiate an outside compliance audit of our firm. This strict independence means our judgment is unclouded, our analyses are unbiased. Most...

Published Articles

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 13:38:31 GMT

World at Work - Essential Eight April 2008 by Marshall Cobb Costco Connection - Business Review: Taking Stock Year-end review refocuses business December 2007 by Jeff Zbar Austin Business Journal - The beginning of the end for Social Security, November 2007, by Marshall Cobb Houston Business Journal - Companies adjust strategies to changing world, September 2006, by Thora Qaddumi Houston Business Journal - Experts tackle latest topics of interest to employers, employees , April 2006, by Marshall Cobb MSN Money - 5 Questions to ask before hiring a broker, August 2005, by Timothy Middleton

Government Agencies

Fri, 01 Feb 2008 21:38:31 GMT

Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (Formerly NASD)

Internal Revenue Service

Social Security Administration
U.S. Department of Labor

Further Confusions With 403(b)s

Fri, 01 Feb 2008 15:32:36 GMT

by Marshall Cobb Many recent articles have described how 403(b) plans will be made simpler due to new rules set to take effect in January of 2009. It’s actually quite the opposite – 403(b) plans are about to become even more complicated. Unless you have worked for a school, hospital or church you may not even be familiar with 403(b) plans. For lack of a better way to describe them, they are the equivalent of a 401(k) plan for those that work in the not-for-profit sector. Insurance companies have long dominated this little corner of the retirement marketplace and its due in no small part to their lobbying efforts that 403(b)s have long been viewed as quirky, expensive and difficult. Keep in mind that until the passage of ERISA it was illegal to offer a non-insurance-based product (such as a mutual fund) within a 403(b). Other long standing quirks include the fact that, unlike 401(k) plans, many 403(b) plans are technically not plans and, even more technically, don’t fall...

Sample Employee Survey

Sat, 05 Jan 2008 18:59:04 GMT

Bonds are:
   a. Guaranteed
   b. A good idea when interest rates are rising
   c. All of the above
   d. None of the above

I picked my investments in the plan based on (mark all that apply):
   a. Historical performance
   b. Name of the firm/fund manager
   c. On the advice of a co-worker
   d. My own research
   e. The enrollment book and other materials I received
   f. I don’t remember which investments I picked

Money I withdraw as a loan from the plan is (mark all that apply):
   a. Not taxed
   b. Taxed as I pay it back into the plan
   c. Taxed when it is withdrawn at retirement

An index fund:
   a. Is the same as an actively managed fund
   b. Can’t go down in value
   c. Is usually more expensive than an actively managed fund
   d. Invests in a predetermined list of stocks or bonds

How do you know if you are financially prepared for retirement?
   a. I have not considered how much money I need for a
       comfortable retirement
   b. I don’t know, but have guessed
   c. I have conducted my own research
   d. I have had professional help from a financial advisor/broker

Vendor Listings

Thu, 13 Dec 2007 16:39:56 GMT

AIG VALIC Charles Schwab 401(k) Company CitiStreet Diversified Investment Advisors Fidelity Investments Great-West Retirement Services The Hartford ING John Hancock Retirement Plan Services JPMorgan Retirement Plan Services Lincoln Financial Group M&I Institutional Trust Services MassMutual Financial Group Mercer/Putnam Investments Merrill Lynch Nationwide Retirement Services Pension Specialists Principal Financial Group Prudential Retirement SunLife Retirement Services T. Rowe Price Wachovia Retirement Services Wells Fargo The Vanguard Group

Employee Education

Thu, 18 Oct 2007 22:11:20 GMT

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Investment Analysis

Thu, 18 Oct 2007 22:03:50 GMT