Navigate 401K
What we offer / Fee benchmarking
Fiduciary services

Prove your plan is competitive.

A documented fee benchmark shows whether your plan's costs are reasonable — satisfying an ERISA duty and often surfacing real savings for participants.

A documented fee review

Reasonable is a fiduciary duty — not a guess.

ERISA requires plan fiduciaries to ensure the fees a plan pays are reasonable for the services received. Without a benchmark, "reasonable" is an opinion — and an exposure. A documented comparison turns it into evidence.

We benchmark your plan against comparable plans — matched on average balance and participant count — and score fees, features, and outcomes by quartile. You see exactly where the plan stands, what a better arrangement looks like, and a record that the review was done.

01 | What we measure

Every cost the plan actually pays.

Advisory fees

What you pay for investment advice and fiduciary services, expressed in basis points and dollars.

Recordkeeping & admin

Recordkeeper and TPA costs — including revenue sharing that can hide the true price.

Investment expense

The weighted expense ratio of the fund lineup, and whether lower-cost share classes are available.

Plan features

The services and functionality the plan receives for its fees — not just the price in isolation.

Participant outcomes

Participation, deferral rates, and engagement, so cost is judged against the value delivered.

Quartile scoring

Where does your plan land?

We place each cost against comparable plans, so "reasonable" becomes a position you can point to — and defend.

1st quartile Highly competitive Fees below most comparable plans. We document it and keep watch as the plan grows.
2nd quartile Reasonable In line with peers. Small refinements to share classes or services may still help.
3rd quartile Worth a look Above the median. We identify what’s driving cost and where it can be reduced.
4th quartile Action needed Among the most expensive. A clear case to renegotiate or convert the plan.
02 | Inside the report

What lands on your desk.

A benchmark is only useful if the committee can read it. These are pages from a real proposal, anonymized — the same format you'd receive.

Proposal page showing plan assets, participant count, average balance and current all-in cost
The starting point

Assets, participant count, average balance, and the plan's current all-in cost — taken straight from your disclosures before any comparison is made.

Proposal page comparing investment, advisory and recordkeeping fees against benchmark with quartile results
Component by component

Investment expense, advisory fee, and recordkeeping shown against the benchmark for your size band — with the difference and the quartile, not just a total.

Proposal page showing a fee quartile scorecard for each cost component
The scorecard

Each component gets a quartile placement against comparable plans, so "reasonable" becomes a position the committee can point to — including where the plan looks expensive.

Proposal page summarizing recommended fee, savings and fiduciary scope in four steps
The recommendation

What we'd change, what it costs, and the fiduciary scope attached — ending in a short list of decisions rather than an open-ended report.

Sample proposal pages, shown for illustrative purposes only. All figures are from an anonymized example — pricing, benchmark data, and quartile results vary by plan assets, participant count, provider, and service scope. Nothing here is a quote, an offer, or a projection of what your plan would pay.

03 | How it works

From disclosures to a documented result.

1
Gather disclosuresWe collect your 408(b)(2) and 404(a)(5) fee disclosures and current plan data.
2
Match peersWe select a comparison group matched on average balance and participant count.
3
Score by quartileEach cost and feature is scored against the peer group and rolled into a clear result.
4
Report & recommendYou receive a documented benchmark with a plain recommendation on any action worth taking.
04 | What you get

A record — and often, real savings.

A documented review

A written benchmark that evidences your fiduciary process — the record examiners and courts look for.

Clear standing

A quartile position for each cost, so you know exactly where the plan is competitive and where it isn’t.

Potential savings

Where fees run high, a concrete path to lower them — better share classes, renegotiation, or a provider change.

A repeatable cadence

Benchmarking on a regular schedule, so reasonableness is proven continuously, not once.

05 | FAQ

Questions sponsors ask.

Find out where your fees stand.

Send us your fee disclosures and we'll benchmark the plan — no obligation, and you keep the documented result either way.